Touhou Kinjoukyou ～ Fossilized Wonders.
Team Shanghai Alice presents a bullet hell shooter! The 20th installment of the Touhou Project. Utilize the powers you've acquired to overcome new challenges!
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DRAINUS on Steam
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This is a side-scrolling shooting game in which you take control of the "Drainus", the Kharlal Empire's most cutting-edge fighter with the ability to absorb energy bullets, and take down the enemy ships zipping through space.
DRAINUS is a action, shoot 'em up and indie game
developed by Team Ladybug and WSS playground
and published by WSS playground and Alliance Arts.
Released on May 22nd 2022 is available on Windows, Steam Deck and Steam Machine.
It has received 947 reviews of which 910 were positive and 37 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.0 out of 10. 😍
The game is currently priced at 6.24€ on Steam with a 50% discount.
The Steam community has classified DRAINUS into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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System requirements
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Windows
- OS *: Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / 7 / 8 / 10
- Processor: Intel Core2 Duo or higher
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Open GL compliant video card
- Storage: 200 MB available space
Steam Price & Best Deals
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
it's good. it's not very hard, the upgrades are absolutely busted and the story mode is like two ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hours long but it's fun. you can save mid-run thankfully. just warning you that at normal difficulty you will be 1CC'ing this thing your first try [url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/1975360/discussions/0/5596333034298873380/]unless your name is MarquisDeSang . outstanding artwork, the cardboard-cutout 3D in the intro genuinely blew my mind. the soundtrack is good, but weird. i could see why a lot of players hate the soundtrack but i think it fits perfectly. it kind of reminds me of Pink and Julius's earlier work at Shin'en (infact I am pretty sure the level 3 theme samples High Anxiety from racing league). so good stuff all around, just maybe not the kind of game I would play over and over, which is the whole point of a shmup I think. the upgrade system makes it easy to cheese the game even at the higher arcade difficulties and it's a much less simple game than something like Raycrisis, which has a lot of depth from far fewer mechanics and a more refined focus. "cheese" in this case does not mean "i'm going to fall asleep playing this", but there isn't a lot of pressure. definitely play Drainus, but whether or not you want to stick with it is up in the air, i'll leave that up to you.
This game is the "anomaly" of Team Ladybug, as it's their only title to date not belonging to the Metroidvania genre (and even before the team proper was formed, the engine was also used for Pharaoh Rebirth ). It's also their first time not using an already existing IP. It was apparently a passion project, released the very moment it was announced. And most importantly, it's excellent. Of course, right from the start the visual quality can't go unnoticed, with an amazing takeoff sequence that may look 3D at first, but is in truth all made with 2D planes. There are some low-poly 3D elements; it's not clear to me whether it's real-time 3D or 3D objects that have then been converted into frames for sprites, but the result is impressive in any case, given how well they mesh with the pixel art. Everything moves very smoothly, the animation is excellent, like the ring-shaped rig that generates the Reflector field getting quickly into position and back, and the quantity of fine details is sometimes even amazing. Look no further than the trailer highlighting the mechanical armadillo (which is just a mid-level boss), and a boss ship turning into a dragon's head. The only reservation that could be levied at the graphics is the variety of the palette, but the colors also help enemy attacks stand out. The Reflector mechanic is very fun, with situations designed to make the most use of it, as the Kharlal Empire's army really loves to make use of laser cannons that would be otherwise impassable. Among my favourite situations are tight spaces where you may be ambushed by small ships even from behind, only for the enemies' own firepower to be turned against them, wiping them out. We are used to upgrade systems being available only between levels, and it can be done that way here too, but you can also pause at any time to buy upgrades and adjust the ship's loadout. Some purists may not like this, but it's clear the developers wanted the game to be very accessible and not just for hardcore players. The ability to not be affected by collisions with the scenario, which can be turned on and off even during a level, is a further indication of that. There are only six levels, but they must be played through twice, with even a narrative reason for that, thanks to a story that won't receive any writing awards but is quite serviceable and invites the players to look for recordings in the levels—some are out there for the taking, others are left behind by enemies—to get more details on the story. By the second loop, with further upgrades unlocked and the ability to replay levels and collect energy tanks at will, the ship is likely going to be even a bit overpowered. A further facilitation comes from how energy works, as all power-ups must be lost before the ship can be destroyed; there are up to six, one is a shield that tanks further hits, and the game is quite generous with power-up items. It's been not rare for me to come back from situations that seemed compromised. At the very least, expert players are rewarded for completion with the unlocking of the Ridiculous difficulty level and the Arcade mode, where the ship goes down with a single shot and the upgrade screen can be called only once per level. There's an extended ending that can be unlocked, but the conditions for that aren't really clear and I've seen contrasting reports about them. Any slightly noticeable flaws feel like nitpicks compared to the overall package. Drainus is really great both to watch and to play, and I can see myself replaying it in the future simply for the fun of it.
A Little Gem This reminded me of Gradius from back in the day. (Yes I am showing my age here) However I love the little story it has but I enjoyed the over all game play and style. Just wish it had a couple more levels and some more power ups to choose from but over all I say well worth picking up.
This game gets a lot easier when you realize it doesn't require you to be good. You just need to be judicious with when and how you're bad, whether that's passing up opportunities to recharge because you know you'll get hit, letting enemies flee rather than chasing them, or spamming super bombs until the boss finally goes down, There are no achievements for score, so your final ranking is between you and your conscience.
As a Team Ladybug game it has all of the hallmarks: Incredible visuals in a colorful artstyle made with really good pixel art, super fun gameplay with a unique mechanical take on it's genre, and it's also really short and makes you wish there was more. That last one tends to be a pretty big flaw when it comes to Ladybug's metroidvanias, but the SMUP genre is already known for games that are incredibly short, so it isn't felt nearly as much here. For me personally though, the big thing that makes this an easy recommend is how approachable it is. SMUPs tend to take maybe a bit too much pride in how sadistically difficult they are, but Drainus knows that half the reason you're here is the spectacle so it's a lot more fair with the bullet spray patterns and the Drainus mechanic means that even when the screen is absolutely covered with bullets and lasers you can still survive by paying attention, moving carefully, and managing guard.
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Frequently Asked Questions
DRAINUS is currently priced at 6.24€ on Steam.
Yes, DRAINUS is currently available at a 50% discount. You can purchase it for 6.24€ on Steam.
Yes, DRAINUS received 910 positive votes out of a total of 947 achieving an impressive rating of 9.02.
😍
DRAINUS was developed by Team Ladybug and WSS playground and published by WSS playground and Alliance Arts.
Yes, DRAINUS is playable and fully supported on Windows.
No, DRAINUS is not playable on MacOS.
No, DRAINUS is not playable on Linux.
Yes, DRAINUS is playable and fully supported on Steam Deck.
Yes, DRAINUS is playable and fully supported on Steam Machine.
No, DRAINUS does not support VR.
DRAINUS is a single-player game.
Yes, there is a DLC available for DRAINUS. Explore additional content available for DRAINUS on Steam.
No, DRAINUS does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, DRAINUS does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, DRAINUS is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for DRAINUS.
Data sources
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Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 16 September 2026 04:22 UTC |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 16 October 2026 23:47 UTC |
| Steam price | 26 October 2026 19:40 UTC |
| Steam reviews | 19 October 2026 16:08 UTC |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about DRAINUS, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about DRAINUS
- SteamCharts - Analysis of DRAINUS concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck DRAINUS compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
1
Developer
Team Ladybug,
WSS playground
Publisher
WSS playground,
Alliance Arts
Release
22 May 2022
Platforms