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Here at RetroNews, we’re fans of the retro-inspired budget indie titles published by the Hong Kong-based publisher Eastasiasoft, having recently enjoyed their Metroidvania title, Clarity: The Seven Demons Of Vanguardia.
And now, Eastasiasoft is back with yet another new budget release, ths time, in the form of the vertically scrolling bullet hell shoot ‘em up Blast’N Bounty.
In the game, you take on the role of the gangster-turned bounty hunter Quad, who is on a one-man mission to bring down the Space Mafia, and who is presumably the same Quad who appeared in developer No Checkpoint’s earlier game, Direction Quad, which we covered previously.
Despite that somewhat dramatic premise, Blast’N Bounty takes places in a land of cute anthropomophized animals, in the vein of say, Star Fox. Also bringing to mind the 1980s comic and i1990s animated series Bucky O’Hare, and it’s the game’s gallery of adorable rogues that makes Blast’N Bounty a more engaging game than it might’ve been otherwise, with each level focusing on hunting down a different villainous (and surprisingly adorable) member of the Space Mafia.
Indeed, Blast’N Bounty chooses to focus on hunting down the Space Mafia, and in doing so, the game eschews high-score chasing, and with no score being tracked, this obviously means that there aren’t any leaderboards either online or local to aim for, which is unusual for a game of this genre.
The game looks particularly good, with a pleasing mix of retro visual styles that combine 2D pixel art with low-poly 3D to great effect. Blast’N Bounty also sounds great, with a suitably pounding rock soundtrack.
As for how Blast’N Bounty plays, it’s a bullet hell vertically scrolling shoot ‘em up that’s intuitive enough for novices to enjoy but challenging enough to keep experienced shmuppers on their toes. The controls are slick and responsive, and the addition of a helper drone is welcome, given the often-challenging enemies you face, which include genuinely impressive (and challenging) screen-filling bosses.
While Blast’N Bounty may not be a particularly innovative game, and it doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre, it does what it sets out to do well, offering a retro-influenced vertically scrolling shoot ‘em up experience that can be enjoyed equally by both novices and experts.
If you’re a newcomer to the genre looking to give vertically scrolling shmups a try, then the game’s charming characters, colorful graphics and intuitive controls make Blast’N Bounty the ideal place to start. On the other hand, if you’re a grizzled shmup veteran, while Blast’N Bounty may not offer any innovations that would keep drawing you back over the years, the slick controls, challengng gameplay and tough bosses make Blast’N Bounty worth its wallet-friendly asking price nonetheless, even if you only ever use the game as a way to fill a lazy weekend, and you never touch it again, after that.
So, whether you’re a newcomer or an expert, there’s a very good chance you’ll have a blast playing Blast’N Bounty.
Blast’N Bounty was developed by No Checkpoint with Eastasiasoft, and it was published by Eastasiasoft today (July 22, 2026), on PC, PlayStation 4&5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One & Series X|S (version tested).
