Drainus

About Drainus

Drainus is a side-scrolling shooter from WSS playground that launched on May 22, 2022. You play as the Kharlal Empire's top fighter ship capable of absorbing enemy energy bullets to turn their attacks back against them. The story follows Irina, who travels from the slave planet Halpax to Earth to cure her father while fighting a galactic war predicted by a time traveler. The game is available on PC and Nintendo Switch as a single-player indie experience. It feels like a classic arcade run with a sci-fi narrative about stopping an empire before it wipes out thousands of worlds.

Gameplay

You control the Drainus ship moving left to right through space while dodging enemy fire and shooting back. The core mechanic involves timing your moves to absorb incoming energy projectiles instead of just blocking them. Absorbed shots charge up your weapon for a powerful counterattack that clears screens or takes out tough bosses. Each session lasts roughly twenty minutes before you hit a checkpoint or boss fight. Controls are tight and responsive, demanding precision since missing an absorption leaves you exposed. You fly through asteroid fields and enemy squadrons while collecting power-ups to upgrade your shots. The difficulty ramps up quickly as more enemies appear on screen.

What Players Think

Players seem to enjoy Drainus based on the 80.4 out of 100 IGDB score from eleven ratings. Most users report an average playtime of about four hours before finishing the campaign. Twenty achievements are available, but only half get unlocked by the typical player at a 50.9% rate. The "Drainus Complete" achievement is quite hard to earn since only 9.40% of users manage it. Community moods lean toward satisfaction with the controls and challenge level rather than deep story immersion. People appreciate the straightforward arcade action over complex RPG elements. Reviews often mention the satisfying feel of absorbing bullets as a standout moment during intense firefights.

PlayPile's Take

Drainus is worth your $7.49 if you want a short, sharp shooter without unnecessary bloat. The game targets fans of classic space shooters who enjoy mastering absorption mechanics. You will likely spend around four hours completing it and unlocking half the achievements unless you aim for that rare completion trophy. The controls are precise and the combat loop stays fresh throughout the campaign. It does not try to reinvent the genre but executes its specific idea very well. Skip this if you expect a deep narrative or hundreds of hours of content.

Storyline

The Planet Halpax is located in the far reaches of space, suffering from the oppressive rule of the Kharlal Empire. One of the slaves residing there is battling an illness. He must return home to the faraway planet of Earth to be cured of the disease, known as "Planetary Compatibility Disorder".His daughter, also a slave, is both devastated by her father's illness and helpless to do anything about it. At that moment, a humanoid named Ghenie, who looks strangely like a frog, appears and says, "I have come from 50 years in the future. A galactic war is about to break out, in which more than 5000 planets will be annihilated by the Kharlal Empire. I have come to this time period to stop that war and the oppressive rule of the Kharlal Empire. I need your help." Why me? What can I do? Irina had no idea what was going on, but her father's illness was worsening by the minute. With no time to hesitate and nowhere else to turn, she takes Gehnie's green hand and sets off... Now she has begun her journey into a universe filled with the armies of the Kharlal Empire, and her quest to reach her distant home planet while taking the Empire down once and for all.