Bullet Candy

Death and Beauty

It's a paradox that the shmup--that old-school genre of frenetic space shooting--can create visuals that come closer to the status of abstract art than any other digital form... If you could ever look up from the intensity of combat long enough to really notice them.

Bullet Candy is a case in point; frenetic space mayhem, and beautiful imagery.

Charlie Knight, its creator, is clearly a long-standing enthusiast of the genre; he's created a highly polished, well executed examplar of the form, complete with "Minter levels" as an homage to Jeff Minter's landmark games. Shmup fans will find a lot to like here; novices are advised to turn the difficulty down as low as it will go (which isn't much).

Play It Now!

We have a web version (the equivalent of the downloadable demo), which you can play in a browser (at least if you're running Windows) to your heart's content. Just click the Play button:

The Developer Says

50 levels, 4 play modes, loads of enemies, even more bullets, power-ups, huge explosions, amazing graphical effects all combined with some seriously intense shooting action.

Death From Above!

Viewed from a top-down perspective, Bullet Candy allows for a true 360 degree shoot-em-up experience. With all of your enemies in view at all times they're easy to see and, more importantly, to shoot into tiny little pieces.

Always In Control

Bullet Candy's controls allow for great precision of movement and aiming. Using the mouse and keyboard to aim and shoot, Bullet Candy always keeps you in control of the onscreen action.

Alternatively, use a dual analog control pad for a better, more natural control method.

Gameplay Features

Bullet Candy's game mechanic is inspired by the classic Williams' Robotron, vertical shooters such as Treasure's Ikaruga and Capcom's Gigawing, and Jeff Minter's awesome Llamatron and Tempest 2000.

Huge particle explosions, masses of enemy bullets, and beautiful feedback effects combined with power-ups, score multipliers, collectable friendly ships, laser upgrades and un-lockable bonus games all add up to make a great gameplay experience.

Gameplay Video

Check out the trailer on Youtube.

Reviews

"Charlie's Games has put forth a fine addition to a fun genre."
   - The Mac Observer

"One of the best indie games I’ve played in the last year or two."
   - The2bears.com

"This game is all about the undeniable oneness with your computer that can be had when the formula is done well and this game PULLED it off AMAZINGLY well."
   - Gametunnel

"Bullet Candy looks like all the shoot-em-ups we used to play on the Spectrum and Commodore 64 looked inside our minds."
   - Consolevania

"This is exactly the type of game that should be appearing on Xbox live arcade alongside Geometry Wars."
   - Consolevania

Awards

Game of the Month & Gold Award July 2006
   - Game Tunnel