This game is very charming, and has a lot of old-school arcade fun. I like the whole thing a lot, but the gameplay has been very up and down so far. I have a lot of experience with bullet hell type games, but for some reason I can't seem to get the hang of this one. I'm playing through it on normal, and I thought I would have finished it by now.
I will echo some other reviewers here in saying that it's just really unforgiving, especially in the later stages. I lose my point of reference on my character very frequently against the background and swarms of enemies. There are times I'm doing well and having a lot of fun, and there are times where I feel the game is actively trying to ruin it for me. It's satisfying to beat a stage, but frustrating to struggle all the way through one just to die as soon as the boss intro cutscene is over.
If I spent more time memorizing enemy formations and bullet patterns, maybe I'd be performing better-- but I don't really enjoy that kind of play. In terms of constructive feedback: more checkpoints really would help. The extra checkpoints could even be a feature exclusive to the normal difficulty.
Your mileage may vary. I think the game's definitely worth your time. Personally, I want to know what happens in the story. I just don't know if I'll be able to get past the frustration to find out how it ends.
Thank you Iori, for supporting Ukraine. :)