Have you heard of WayForward's Cat Girl Without Salad yet? Currently only available as part of June's Humble Monthly Bundle, Cat Girl Without Salad ~Amuse-Bouche~ is a bite sized horizontal shootemup with the most creatively meta gameplay mechanic I've seen in years.
Defeated enemies will occasionally drop a (very familiar looking!) weapon powerup based on a different genre of video game, completely changing the way the player approaches combat. In appreciation of the game (and my friends at WayForward) I produced a little branding project based on it!
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 | Arcade Gun - AC-001 MRS. CHOMPER After launching Mrs. Chomper, press the arrow keys to control where she goes! Can be a little tricky to dodge enemy fire while also controlling your bullet, cut chomping enemies deals big damage and even freezes the action for a split second, just like the way the screen pauses in Pacman when eating a ghost! |
 | Platform Gun - PF-002 SUPER MEGGIO BROS. Firing the Platform Gun sends a little man (or a little man's brother) running across the screen in a straight line. Pressing any arrow key will make him jump or double jump. Making contact with enemies will deal a small amount of damage, but bouncing off of them packs a big punch. |
 | Dance Gun - DN-003 THAT'S GALACTIC DANCIN' Upon picking up this gun the player will begin firing weak projectiles automatically while Dance Dance Revolution style arrows begin scrolling across the bottom of the screen. Timing your arrow key presses properly will make your next shot super powerful! One of the toughest weapons to use effectively due to the multitasking required. |
| RPG Gun - RPG-004 FINAL NYANTASY Makes a turn-based RPG battle menu appear on the side of the screen that can be navigated with the arrow keys! Managing your MP properly can lead to the highest potential damage output. |
 | Sports Gun - SP-005 NEO PUTT 2020 The Sports Gun projects a dotted line that rotates up and down on its own--pressing the arrow key fires a ballistic golf ball to deal moderate damage. The twist is that as the balls bounce around the screen they lose momentum and roll to a stop. If you want to fire more you have to go over and collect them. |
 | Puzzle Gun - PZ006-BUBBLE HAZARD BATTLE One of the most unique weapon ideas in a game that's already full of them, the Puzzle Gun works the same way Puzzle Bobble/Bust A Move does; arrow keys aim your targeting reticle and fire different colored bubbles. The bubbles stop when they collide with an enemy. Match three bubbles of the same color for a screen clearing bomb! |
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| Painted and distressed the shit out of an old ammo box for a handy carrying case |
Try Cat Girl Without Salad if you can get your hands on it!