Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX

Only after starting to play this, did I realize that Luminous Avenger iX belongs to a pretty sizable series of Gunvolt games, which I assume play at least somewhat similarly. Perhaps the existance of this series is also part of the reason for its rather positive review score. At least, I did notice a lot of people referencing the other games in the reviews section. Not me though, as I haven't played any other Gunvolt games, and after this one, I probably don't want to either.

Luminous Avenger iX is an action platformer where you clear a bunch of levels, beating up small enemies on your way to the bossfight at the end of each level. Your character has the usual jump and ranged attack, but also a long dash and one of a variety of special attacks. Dashing into an enemy locks onto them, enhanching your attacks and forcing them to target that enemy. Aside from manually dodging the enemy, the game also has a rather unique system where you automatically evade an enemy's attack as long as you have a special resource, which can be reloaded basically at any point, rendering you near-invulnerable.
The game isn't very lengthy, nor is it difficult if you play it safe. It is a score attack game, meaning you're rewarded for disposing of enemies quickly, and swiftly maneuvering through the level. You're probably expected to play through each stage multiple times, gunning for a high score.

As usual, my first and biggest problem was that this game was clearly made for consoles, not PC. The default keybindings were terrible, and even after rebinding them, the character felt awkward and imprecise to control on a keyboard. I think mouse support could have made a massive difference. This is a pretty big problem in a fast-paced action game that rewards precision.
The other problem was that the game just felt kind of bland. There was some level up system, but it didn't have much of an impact. The enemies weren't anything special, mostly just fodder, and the few unique mechanics the game had didn't really set apart the gameplay, at least not in a positive direction.

Overall, I don't see anything noteworthy in Luminous Avenger iX. It played like an average, perhaps even sub-par action platformer without much polish. I can't speak for how it compares to other titles in the series, but even without considering my dislike for score attack games, I can't find any reason to recommend it, especially not on PC.