Let’s dive into Hazelnut Hex by Chunderfins. It’s a sharp arcade-style bullet hell that rescues breakfast. According to user feedback, its art and smooth gameplay stand out. One fan said, “It looks like playing a Saturday morning cartoon.” The game hooks me with its charge-shot timing and tight hitboxes. Notably, I shaved my best time by seven seconds using wall-bounce tricks around Stage 3’s boss. It’s short—around thirty minutes—but it feels dense.
I agree wholeheartedly. Chunderfins packed five stages with collectible stars and hidden bonus rooms. You can charge a piercing shot, then collect multikill bonuses. In my case, I hunted every secret checkpoint and unlocked all achievements in one run. Reviews rave, “It’s cheap and it’s awesome,” and I see why. My only wish? A few more hidden Easter eggs in Stage 4. Additionally, a level select after clearing the game would boost replay.
From a world-building perspective, I love what’s been done here. The curse on breakfast sets a funny tone. Enemies range from flying bacon strips to cursed coffee mugs. I found secret alcoves behind bullet patterns in Stage 2. Altogether, it feels like classic shmup exploration. Chunderfins published dev notes saying they studied 1980s cartoons for inspiration. Consequently, that lore trickles in through witty enemy names and brief cutscenes.
When it comes to gameplay mechanics, Hazelnut Hex nails the core bullet-hell formula. The release-to-charge shoot function rewards skillful players. You juggle three magic types—fire, ice, and lightning—for strategic depth. By comparison, Ikaruga’s polarity swap is more complex, while this game keeps input simple but offers layered decision-making. For future updates, I’d suggest adding more advanced speedrun leaderboards or time trials.
As for the story, it’s light but effective. You rescue breakfast ingredients from a nightmare realm. The plot twists around Sam, Nat’s buddy, joining you for co-op firepower. Dialogue is sparse but charming. Importantly, it never interrupts the action, which I love for speedruns.
In terms of visuals, the game shines through MisMash’s cover art style. The Unity engine delivers crisp pixel art and smooth frame rates on PC and consoles. The color palette stays consistent—pastel pinks and blues—so you track bullets easily. Even on lower-end PCs, I saw no drop below sixty fps.
Turning to audio design, the sound supports the vibe. The BGM blends retro synth and quirky tunes. Tracks like “Morning Mayhem” build tension in boss fights. Sound effects pop when you chain blasts. Chunderfins noted in an interview they layered nine SFX channels to avoid audio clash. As a result, it feels deliberate.
Moreover, characters stand out too. Nat’s brave, Sam’s supportive. You even unlock minor lore about the breakfast kingdom via text logs. It’s minimal but inclusive—you play as a girl lead by default, which reviewers applauded.
Regarding difficulty, the challenge curve’s smooth until Stage 4. Then bullet density spikes—but you learn patterns fast. There’s an easy and hard mode. Easy adds more health points. Hard cranks bullet speed. Crucially, there are no forced difficulty walls—just fair tests of your skill.
For those chasing replay value, collectible stars add incentive. You fill a Superbeam meter, nailing dense patterns for huge bonuses. Achievements push you to revisit stages. I’d love a time-attack mode, but score-attack suffices. Overall, it holds up against classics like Jamestown+.
Remarkably, for a half-hour romp, I replayed four times to find every secret and perfect my runs. It feels longer because each stage grabs you.
Final thoughts? Hazelnut Hex shows indie studios like Chunderfins can rival AAA eye-candy with clever design. It blends accessible bullet hell with robust mechanics.
Here are a few similar titles you might enjoy: If you’re a fan of side-scrolling or vertical shoot-’em-ups (shmups), here are some must-play titles similar to your favorites. Jamestown+ delivers a compelling narrative in a vertical shooter format, with robust local co-op and rewarding score-chasing mechanics. Sine Mora EX stands out by fusing bullet hell intensity with time-manipulation gameplay and cinematic storytelling. For fans of gothic aesthetics, Deathsmiles from Cave offers a horizontal shooter experience with multiple branching paths that boost replay value. If you crave fast-paced hybrid gameplay, Astebreed blends melee combat and shooting with exhilarating boss rush encounters. Lastly, R-Type Final 2 modernizes the classic shmup formula, featuring customizable ships and scalable difficulty, making it perfect for both veterans and newcomers. These games offer deep, replayable content that caters to arcade shooter enthusiasts across platforms.
