Blue Rider is a shmup at heart, but not in the traditional sense. You're not force-scrolled in one direction while dodging bullets and enemies, but instead get a top down almost twin-stick shooter style view and gameplay. You progress through each level at your own speed and discretion, each stage offers up multiple directions to run through.
The stage design is very simple, which isn't a bad thing -- each stage works very well and is rather easy to the eye. One of the best parts about Blue Rider is your ability to make your way through the levels at your own speed, taking on large groups of enemies at once or slowly drawing them off one at a time. Either way, it's up to you. Each stage ends with an epic boss battle, and each one is bigger and worse than the last. These battles feel great and challenging just the way you want them to.
