Each time I die i must go back to the main menu ? Really ?

I have such an appreciation for what Galia is trying to do and what I think it could accomplish. The short version is if you are interested in rogue-likes or feel as though you just don’t get the appeal Galia is the game you need to play. In some ways it is THE rogue-like formula. It doesn’t have a big twist and I’m sure veterans of the genre can point to other games doing aspects of this formula better. This is a top down twin rogue-like with bullet hell patterns, twin stick shooting, generous dodge, and meta progression. Its familiar territory. The two big things Galia has going for it is its refinement and its length.

I think the main selling point and reason I would want more people to try this game is because it is a full rogue-lite experience that you can complete in a couple hours. Not a singular run, the whole experience. And despite having meta progression I still lean towards calling this a rogue-like because that meta progression can be completed in about an hour of runs. The satisfaction of rogue-lites comes from entering an impossible feeling situation and working your way up to a workable situation using some tools that follow you from run to run. Galia not only condensed this experience but also still has a fun rogue-like experience after that. The conflict between the 2 genres is that a rogue-like is about making interesting choices within a run to survive and a rogue-like flattens that curve over the course of several runs and takes the strategy away from the moment to moment play. Galia’s approach is pretty blunt, making the game extraordinarily difficult at the start and using meta progression to build up to where the experience should be at the start of a typical rogue-like. Your meta strategy is now over but the runs themselves are now more interesting. It's not elegant but it is functional and is a great way to expose yourself to both sides of the genre.

As for the runs themselves, they have all the genre staples. It's a build based rogue-like. You have multiple avenues to strengthen your character, from stat changes, different dashes, screen clears, and passive items. That in combination with different enemy behaviors, bosses, shops, special encounters, and a secret path to the true ending makes this a really good microcosm of the genre. The one unique thing I’ll bring attention to is how you attack. This may look just like a twin stick shooter but there is heavy auto aim, to the point where aiming at all is pretty unnecessary. Positioning and ammo management is more the focus. Dashing is not just for avoidance but also reloads your shots. You are free to dash whenever but to encourage risky play the end of your clip will deal critical damage with a multiplier you can upgrade over the course of the run. It leads to a lot of interesting strategies when considering your movement and upgrades, making rewards like ‘decrease number of bullets’ an actually viable upgrade if you want to get to your criticals faster.

In short when it comes to the runs it does exactly what a good rogue-like should do and makes the strategizing fun. The progress from fragile little pea shooter to untouchable god is an enjoyable one every run and I think this game is a great way to get someone into that kind of headspace.