Daring to blend genres that typically haven’t been mashed together can be a risky business, but the upside is that when it is done right there can be a substantial reward for your effort. I have no doubt the people behind Galacide had that in mind when they designed a game that combines a classic side-scrolling shmup with an action puzzle game. An ambitious idea, to be sure, but in terms of how effective and engaging it is? Well, that may be a rougher road. It is, no doubt, novel and it can be satisfying if you’re able to get into a groove. Grabbing colored gems from destroyed enemies, your goal is to complete groups of same-colored barriers that stand in your way to clear them and gain a helpful power-up in the process. The main problems I ended up having, though, are that overall that core experience never really seemed to evolve as you went along and that you’d get so occupied trying to complete the puzzle that the shmup elements (aside from the obligatory boss battles) were just background noise to an extent. Given that there are many fans of either of the game’s genres who don’t appreciate the other, the compromises made to satisfy the concept may make it hard to find an audience for.