Espgaluda is a vertical-scrolling shooter developed by Cave in 2003, set in an alternate steampunk-styled Japan, with a game system letting characters enter an "awakening" state to slow down time and absorb enemy bullets as score, in exchange for greater risk. It's one of the company's most praised bullet-shooter installments, for the balance between its extreme difficulty and scoring systems that reward risky play. For genre followers it's an almost mandatory stop within Cave's catalog, on par with better-known series like DonPachi or Ketsui.
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