Graceful Explosion Machine

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Critics Recommend

Average Score

Total Reviews: 27

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Critics Recommend

Critic Reviews: 27

Critics Consensus

# Reviews: 27

A summary of the critical opinion for this game will be provided after release or a minimum of 15 reviews have been aggregated.

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Critic Reviews for Graceful Explosion Machine

Reviews

High Score - 100/100

Low Score - 50/100

Bronze TIER

37% of scored reviews fell within the range of 80 to 86 / 100

Jed Whitaker (Destructoid)

7/10

“Graceful Explosion Machine is a fun little space shooter with nice visuals and audio that is worth your time and money if you’re a high score hound. Even if you’re not, there are far worse games on the Switch currently, and not many that only ask a few minutes of your time to complete a level, which makes this the perfect game to play on the go. It’s pretty good.”

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Mikhail Madnani (God is a Geek)

8/10

“Graceful Explosion Machine is a must play for arcade shooters with its precision gameplay, accessibility, and presentation.”

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Erin Soares (COGconnected)

88/100

“There are graphics that pop with color, and an entrancing techno soundtrack that just keeps pulling you into the frenzy.”

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**Read all 27 critic reviews on the desktop version of VSG.

Read the Reviews (27 total)

Outlet	Author	Score	Date	Quote	Read
Atomix	Aureliano Carvajal	80 / 100	07-30-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is a small but great arcade shooter that proves to be fun and addictive.	Read review
Chalgyr's Game Room	Chalgyr's Game Room	7.5 / 10	08-22-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is a bright, colorful and quirky shooter with some interesting visuals that back up some pretty solid shooting gameplay. Having already been released on the Switch several months ago, Graceful Explosion Machine makes its way to the PlayStation 4 where it fills the screen with some pretty crazy action.	Read review
COGconnected	Erin Soares	88 / 100	08-11-2017	There are graphics that pop with color, and an entrancing techno soundtrack that just keeps pulling you into the frenzy.	Read review
Cubed3	Drew Hurley	7 / 10	08-26-2017	There's just something about these types of games that make them intrinsically addictive. After playing Graceful Explosion Machine for long enough, and getting into the flow, the experience is fast, manic, and fluid	Read review
Destructoid	Jed Whitaker	7 / 10	04-06-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is a fun little space shooter with nice visuals and audio that is worth your time and money if you're a high score hound. Even if you're not, there are far worse games on the Switch currently, and not many that only ask a few minutes of your time to complete a level, which makes this the perfect game to play on the go. It's pretty good.	Read review
Digitally Downloaded	Matt C.	4.5 / 5 stars	08-30-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is simple, pure arcade fun, with a level of polish and attention to detail in the design that's rarely seen. It's the sort of game that you can pick up for a quick 5 minute session, and then find yourself still playing hours later.	Read review
Gamerheadquarters	Jason Stettner	8 / 10	08-07-2017	There's a solid amount of gameplay present within Graceful Explosion Machine and it's very entertaining to play.	Read review
GamesRadar+	David Roberts	3 / 5 stars	04-06-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is the gaming equivalent of empty calories. It's pretty to look at, super smooth, and has some interesting weapons, but there's no real hook to keep you sustained beyond the act of moving around and blowing up aliens.	Read review
GamingTrend	Elisha Deogracias	90 / 100	04-10-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is the perfect arcade style shooter, and one of the best Switch games available right now. Its fluid, addictive gameplay and flashy yet minimal visuals pair well with a variety of challenging enemies, and it’s great for sessions lasting for a few minutes or a couple hours.	Read review
Geeks Under Grace	Sydney Stoddard	7.8 / 10	08-13-2017	If your PC is ready for this gem, Graceful Exploding Machine is a satisfying game that'll make your day.	Read review
God is a Geek	Mikhail Madnani	8 / 10	08-07-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is a must play for arcade shooters with its precision gameplay, accessibility, and presentation.	Read review
Hardcore Gamer	James Cunningham	4 / 5 stars	04-06-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is fantastic arcade action where being able to plan while forced into close-quarter shooting is the only way to survive.	Read review
IGN	Jose Otero	8 / 10	04-11-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine builds an intense, addictive shoot-em-up around a satisfying weapon-juggling system and smart enemies. The Switch’s HD Rumble adds a unique feeling to every explosion in this colorful shooter, and earning a good spot on the leaderboard is an intense challenge thanks to dense swarms of enemies. But even when a pesky foe slapped down my scoring run, I always had the urge to jump back into these crowded corridors and try again.	Read review
IGN Italy	Mattia Ravanelli	8 / 10	04-06-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is a little, smart and funny shoot'em up that perfectly suits the Switch hybrid nature.	Read review
Nintendo Life	Mitch Vogel	9 / 10	04-06-2017	Overall, Graceful Explosion Machine is a masterful example of how to do an arcade shooter right. Eye-catching visuals and extremely fine-tuned gameplay combine to make this a memorable and compelling experience for anybody looking to get into a faster paced, action focused game. That being said, there is a minor element of repetitiveness which never goes away entirely; the selling point comes not from the amount of levels, but from how many times you'll be playing each one.We give Graceful Explosion Machine a very strong recommendation, all told; considering the amount of polish and replayability on offer, this is quite the bang for your buck.	Read review
NintendoWorldReport	Justin Nation	8.5 / 10	04-09-2017	undefined.Graceful Explosion Machine is an intelligently designed 2D shooter for the Switch. The developers obviously put a lot of thought into the weapon and high score systems and made a title that you’ll want to replay over and over. The Nintendo Switch may still have a low number of retail releases, but Graceful Explosion Machine is another indie title that will keep you enthralled on both the go and at home.	Read review
PlayStation LifeStyle	Tyler Treese	7.5 / 10	08-10-2017	There are a lot of great ideas found within Graceful Explosion Machine, and I can’t wait to see how they’re build upon in future games. I never got the itch to better my scores after completing a level (some sort of unlockable structure would’ve helped), but I found myself enjoying the challenge that Vertex Pop had on offer more often than not. Occasionally it veers into being more frustrating than fun, but the joy of finally beating a level you failed several times before is worth those bouts of annoyance.	Read review
Post Arcade (National Post)	Chad Sapieha	8 / 10	04-06-2017	The first Canadian-made game for Switch – a simple, colourful space shooter – delivers a bit of bite-sized bliss	Read review
PS4Blog.net	EdEN	8.5 / 10	10-05-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is a fast-paced and action-packed release that is highly addictive. You'll end up returning over and over again to each level as you first aim to get A grades in all of them before you move up to getting an S rank on them from near-perfect start-to-finish runs in each level, building up massive combos as you avoid being hit by enemies. There's plenty of content here and a nice variety of enemies to make this one an easy game to recommend on PS4.	Read review
PSX Brasil	Carlos Oliveira Maciel	75 / 100	08-08-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is an extremely simple and straightforward game. And this is both good and bad, since its scenarios and weapons do not change over the course of their short journey. This turns the game into a casual experience or into something for lovers of the side-scrolling arcade shooter genre.	Read review
Pure Playstation	Kyle Durant	6.8 / 10	08-06-2017	This spaceship shoot'em up will draw you in with interesting sounds, nice art design, wonderful weapons, and acceptable gameplay from industry standards. Just after it does, you might be kicked out by the repetitive levels, enemies, and lack of appropriate difficulty though. This is definitely one fans of the genre will enjoy and might even make a few new fans. However, if you were like me as a child Graceful Explosion Machine won't change your mind about these types of games. There's just not enough diversity going for it to have that effect.	Read review
Push Square	Ken Talbot	8 / 10	08-07-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine is a gorgeous and innovative take on a now ancient genre of arcade shooter. The weapon system brings an element of combo juggling to the combat and challenge runs are addictive and, crucially, not too punishing. Simply put, this is another top-notch PS4 shmup.	Read review
TechnoBuffalo	Joey Davidson	3.5 / 5 stars	04-14-2017	Frustration aside, GEM is a solid arcade shooter with a brilliant art design, decent tunes and a nice rhythm to its gameplay.	Read review
The Outerhaven Productions	Clinton Bowman-Christie	5 / 5 stars	04-11-2017	All in all, Graceful Explosion Machine does what it advertises, offers a fun arcade shooter experience, with a significant amount of replay value after you finish your first go round with the game. The vibrant colors and the background music, along with the simplistic yet deep controls, make for a fun experience on and off the road. Graceful Explosion Machine is definitely a must have for your Nintendo Switch.	Read review
TheSixthAxis	Tuffcub	5 / 10	08-07-2017	There is absolutely nothing wrong with Graceful Explosion Machine, and if you enjoy chasing high scores then it will provide you with a decent challenge. For the the rest of us, it's a dinky little shooter that you can complete in a couple of hours and will forget about in half that time.	Read review
Video Chums	Tyler Hall	7.2 / 10	08-15-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine boasts exciting and frantic shooting action, colorful visuals, and a well implemented combo scoring system.	Read review
We Got This Covered	Jordan Hurst	3 / 5 stars	08-07-2017	Graceful Explosion Machine certainly lives up to its name, but narrow-minded design and a complete lack of multiplayer deflate the experience.	Read review

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Game Info

Game Description / Storyline:

Skillfully pilot the advanced Graceful Explosion Machine (GEM) fighter while blasting swarms of crystalline enemies with your ludicrously overpowered quad-weapon array! Lost in deep space, you’ll shoot, dash and combo your way through jewel-hued alien worlds, fighting to find a way home.

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