JASEM: Just Another Shooter with Electronic Music

JASEM: Just Another Shooter with Electronic Music is a fast-paced, top-down twin-stick shooter set in a neon-lit sci-fi world. Known for its punishing difficulty, the game combines arcade-style action with procedural generation, delivering relentless combat, bright explosions, and a pulsating electronic soundtrack. Players battle through waves of robotic enemies in a visually striking low-poly environment, testing their reflexes and endurance in this unforgiving blastathon.

JASEM: Just Another Shooter with Electronic Music: A Retrospective on a Chaotic, Unapologetic Arcade Experience

Introduction: The Anti-Narrative Shooter

In an era where video games are increasingly burdened by cinematic storytelling, open-world bloat, and moral ambiguity, JASEM: Just Another Shooter with Electronic Music (2017) emerges as a defiant, unapologetic throwback to the pure, unadulterated chaos of arcade shooters. Developed by Stas Shostak and published under the shostak.games banner, JASEM is a game that wears its simplicity—and its difficulty—like a badge of honor. It is, as the title cheekily suggests, “just another shooter,” but one that carves out a niche through its relentless pacing, punishing gameplay, and a synth-heavy soundtrack that pulses in sync with the on-screen mayhem.

This review seeks to dissect JASEM not merely as a game, but as a statement—a rejection of modern gaming conventions in favor of raw, unfiltered arcade action. Through an examination of its development, mechanics, aesthetic choices, and reception, we will explore how JASEM both embraces and subverts the twin-stick shooter genre, and why its legacy, though modest, is worth preserving.

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Development History & Context: A One-Man Arcade Revival

The Studio and the Vision

JASEM is the brainchild of Stas Shostak, an indie developer whose portfolio reflects a penchant for experimental, high-intensity gameplay. Prior to JASEM, Shostak released Tribal Pass (2016), a minimalist platformer, and later Save One More (2018), an anti-war game where players heal rather than kill. JASEM, however, stands as his most uncompromising work—a game that strips away all pretense of narrative or emotional depth in favor of pure, adrenaline-fueled combat.

The game’s development was a lean, efficient process, with Shostak handling the bulk of the programming and design, while Ira Lobanok composed the electronic soundtrack and Aleksandr Palmov contributed the low-poly 3D models. The team’s ethos was clear: JASEM would be a game about shooting, explosions, and nothing else. As Shostak himself stated in the game’s credits, the title includes “no story, narrative, and even texts at all (except of seizure warning).” This was not a game designed to be “accessible” or “player-friendly”—it was an arcade experience in the truest sense, where mastery came through repetition, reflexes, and sheer persistence.

Technological Constraints and Design Philosophy

Built in Unity, JASEM leverages a low-poly aesthetic that is as much a stylistic choice as it is a technical one. The game’s visuals are deliberately simplistic, with blocky environments, neon highlights, and exaggerated explosion effects that evoke the retro-futurism of 1980s arcade cabinets. This design philosophy extends to the gameplay: JASEM is a game of instant feedback, where every shot, every explosion, and every death is immediate and visceral.

The twin-stick shooter genre, popularized by games like Robotron: 2084 (1982) and Geometry Wars (2003), had seen a resurgence in the indie scene by the mid-2010s. Titles like Nuclear Throne (2015) and Enter the Gungeon (2016) had proven that there was still an audience for fast-paced, high-difficulty shooters. JASEM, however, distinguishes itself by eschewing even the minimal narrative framing of its peers. There are no characters, no lore, no cutscenes—just a player-controlled tank (or perhaps a mech; the design is delightfully ambiguous) and waves of robotic enemies to obliterate.

The Gaming Landscape of 2017

JASEM launched on October 19, 2017, into a Steam marketplace that was already saturated with indie shooters. The same year saw the release of Cuphead, Hollow Knight, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds—games that dominated critical and commercial attention. In this context, JASEM was never going to be a blockbuster. Instead, it carved out a niche as a cult favorite, a game for players who craved challenge over spectacle.

The game’s Steam page proudly declares it as “insanely hard and ridiculously unforgiving,” a warning that doubles as a selling point. This was not a game for the casual audience; it was for the hardcore, for those who relished the punishing difficulty of I Wanna Be The Guy or the reflex-heavy combat of Super Hexagon. In an era where “difficulty” was often mitigated by checkpoints, save systems, and accessibility options, JASEM stood as a deliberate throwback to the quarter-munching arcades of yesteryear.

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Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive: The Art of Saying Nothing

The Absence of Story

JASEM is a game that defies traditional narrative analysis because it has no narrative to speak of. There is no protagonist, no antagonist, no plot, no dialogue. The game’s only “text” is a seizure warning—a meta-joke about its own lack of textual content. This absence is not a flaw but a feature. JASEM is a game that rejects the modern obsession with storytelling in favor of pure, unadulterated gameplay.

This anti-narrative approach is not without precedent. Games like Tetris (1984) and Pac-Man (1980) thrived without story, and modern titles like Thumper (2016) and Rez Infinite (2016) have proven that rhythm and mechanics can carry a game without traditional narrative. JASEM, however, takes this philosophy to an extreme. There are no environmental hints, no lore snippets, no cryptic messages—just a series of abstract, neon-drenched arenas filled with enemies to destroy.

Themes: Chaos, Mastery, and the Joy of Destruction

If JASEM has a “theme,” it is the celebration of chaos and the player’s ability to impose order upon it. The game’s levels are procedurally generated to some degree, ensuring that enemy placement and weapon drops vary with each attempt. This randomness, combined with the game’s punishing difficulty, creates a sense of controlled anarchy. The player is not a hero saving the world; they are a force of destruction, a lone tank mowing through waves of robotic foes to the beat of an electronic soundtrack.

The game’s difficulty is not arbitrary—it is a core part of its thematic identity. JASEM is a game about mastery, about the player’s ability to internalize its systems, anticipate enemy patterns, and react with split-second precision. Every death is a lesson, every restart an opportunity to do better. In this sense, JASEM is a game about the player’s relationship with failure. It does not hold your hand; it does not offer pity. It demands that you rise to its challenge or be crushed beneath it.

The Role of Music

The electronic soundtrack, composed by Ira Lobanok, is more than just background noise—it is the game’s heartbeat. The music pulses in sync with the action, its synthetic beats mirroring the rhythm of combat. This is not a game where music fades into the background; it is a game where the soundtrack is as much a part of the experience as the shooting itself.

The music’s role is twofold: it enhances the game’s arcade aesthetic, and it serves as a pacing mechanism. The tracks are fast, relentless, and repetitive, mirroring the game’s own structure. There is no dynamic music system here—no swelling orchestral score to signal a boss fight. Instead, the music remains constant, a steady electronic pulse that keeps the player in a state of heightened focus.

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Gameplay Mechanics & Systems: The Brutal Beauty of Twin-Stick Combat

Core Gameplay Loop

JASEM is, at its core, a twin-stick shooter. The left stick (or WASD keys) controls movement, while the right stick (or mouse) aims and fires. The game’s simplicity is deceptive, however, as the real challenge lies in its enemy design, level structure, and punishing difficulty curve.

Each of the game’s five levels (plus a tutorial) is a gauntlet of enemies, obstacles, and environmental hazards. The player’s tank is equipped with a randomized loadout at the start of each level, which can include:
– Primary Weapons: Standard bullets, homing missiles, or a flamethrower.
– Secondary Weapons: Exploding barrels, rockets, or a deployable shield.
– Boost Ability: A temporary speed increase, essential for dodging laser beams and other hazards.

The goal is simple: clear each platform of enemies to progress, activate switches to lower bridges, and defeat the boss at the end of each level. The execution, however, is anything but simple.

Combat and Enemy Design

JASEM’s enemies are designed to overwhelm. They come in several varieties:
– Basic Drones: Weak but numerous, often swarming the player in groups.
– Turret Enemies: Stationary or slow-moving, firing rapid bullets or lasers.
– Homing Enemies: Aggressively pursue the player, requiring constant movement to evade.
– Bosses: Massive, multi-phase enemies that test the player’s mastery of the game’s mechanics.

The game’s difficulty stems from the combination of enemy types and the lack of checkpoints. Dying sends the player back to the start of the level, forcing them to replay entire sections. This design choice is deliberate—JASEM is not a game about progress; it is a game about perfection. The player must memorize enemy patterns, optimize their movement, and make split-second decisions to survive.

Physics and Environmental Interaction

One of JASEM’s most underrated features is its physics system. The game’s low-poly environments are not just aesthetic choices—they are interactive. Barrels can be shot to create explosions, bridges can be destroyed or lowered, and the player’s tank can use the environment to gain tactical advantages. This physics-based interaction adds a layer of depth to the combat, allowing for improvised strategies like using exploding barrels to clear groups of enemies or creating shortcuts by destroying obstacles.

Progression and Randomization

JASEM does not feature traditional character progression. There are no upgrades, no skill trees, no permanent unlocks. Instead, the game’s “progression” is tied to the player’s skill. Each death is a lesson, each restart an opportunity to apply that knowledge. The randomized weapon drops ensure that no two playthroughs are identical, forcing the player to adapt to new loadouts on the fly.

The game’s Steam achievements reflect this philosophy. Titles like “JJJ” (Pass the boss on level 1 without dying) and “MMM” (Pass the boss on level 5 without dying) are not just goals—they are badges of honor, proof that the player has mastered the game’s brutal mechanics.

UI and Feedback

JASEM’s UI is minimalist, reflecting its arcade roots. Health, ammo, and enemy counters are displayed prominently, but there are no maps, no objectives, no tutorials beyond the initial level. The game’s feedback is immediate and visceral: explosions flash, enemies disintegrate, and the screen shakes with each hit. This sensory overload is part of the game’s charm—it is a game that demands the player’s full attention, rewarding focus and punishing distraction.

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World-Building, Art & Sound: A Neon-Drenched Arcade Nightmare

Visual Design: Low-Poly Aesthetic

JASEM’s visual style is a deliberate throwback to the early days of 3D gaming. The low-poly models, blocky environments, and neon highlights evoke the aesthetic of late-1990s and early-2000s arcade games. This is not a game that aims for realism; it is a game that embraces abstraction, using bold colors and simple shapes to create a cohesive, if surreal, world.

The game’s levels are abstract arenas, floating platforms connected by bridges and ramps. There is no attempt at realism—no cities, no landscapes, no recognizable structures. Instead, the environments are pure gameplay spaces, designed to facilitate combat and movement. The use of neon colors—pinks, blues, greens—creates a cyberpunk-like atmosphere, a digital playground where the only rule is survival.

Sound Design: The Pulse of Combat

The sound design in JASEM is as minimalist as its visuals. Gunfire is sharp and punchy, explosions are deep and resonant, and the electronic soundtrack pulses in the background. There is no voice acting, no ambient noise, no unnecessary audio clutter. Every sound serves a purpose, reinforcing the game’s focus on pure, unfiltered action.

The soundtrack, composed by Ira Lobanok, is a standout feature. The electronic beats are fast, repetitive, and hypnotic, perfectly complementing the game’s relentless pacing. The music is not just background noise—it is a pacing mechanism, a metronome that keeps the player in sync with the action. The fact that the soundtrack was released as a separate DLC speaks to its quality and the role it plays in the game’s identity.

Atmosphere: A Digital Battleground

JASEM’s atmosphere is one of controlled chaos. The game’s abstract environments, neon colors, and electronic soundtrack create a sense of being in a digital battleground, a place where the only goal is survival. There is no narrative context, no emotional weight—just the player, their weapons, and the endless waves of enemies.

This atmosphere is reinforced by the game’s difficulty. JASEM is not a game that holds your hand or offers respite. It is a game that demands your full attention, your quickest reflexes, and your willingness to fail repeatedly in pursuit of mastery. The lack of narrative or emotional context is not a flaw—it is a feature. JASEM is a game about the purity of gameplay, about the joy of movement and destruction.

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Reception & Legacy: A Cult Classic in the Making

Critical and Commercial Reception

JASEM’s reception on Steam is a study in polarization. With a “Mixed” rating (66% positive out of 133 reviews), the game has garnered both fervent praise and scathing criticism. Players who enjoy punishing difficulty and arcade-style gameplay have hailed it as a hidden gem, while others have dismissed it as frustrating and unpolished.

Positive reviews often highlight the game’s:
– Challenging Gameplay: Players who enjoy difficult games praise JASEM for its relentless, skill-based combat.
– Electronic Soundtrack: The music is frequently cited as a standout feature, enhancing the game’s atmosphere.
– Colorful Visuals: The low-poly aesthetic and neon colors are praised for their retro charm.

Negative reviews, on the other hand, criticize:
– Poor Level Design: Some players find the levels confusing and unfair, particularly the lack of checkpoints.
– Unresponsive Controls: A common complaint is that the controls feel stiff or imprecise, making the game’s difficulty feel artificial.
– Lack of Polish: The game’s minimalist approach is seen by some as a lack of effort, with critics arguing that it feels unfinished.

Evolution of Reputation

Since its release, JASEM has not achieved mainstream success, but it has developed a small, dedicated following. Its reputation as a “cult classic” is bolstered by its uncompromising design and its rejection of modern gaming trends. For players who grew up with arcade games or who crave a challenge, JASEM offers a rare, unfiltered experience.

The game’s legacy is also tied to its developer, Stas Shostak, whose subsequent projects (Save One More, Titan Chaser) have continued to explore experimental gameplay mechanics. JASEM stands as a testament to Shostak’s willingness to take risks, to create games that defy convention and cater to niche audiences.

Influence on the Genre

While JASEM has not had a direct influence on the twin-stick shooter genre, it serves as a reminder of the value of simplicity and challenge in game design. In an era where games are increasingly complex, JASEM proves that there is still an audience for pure, unadulterated arcade action.

Its influence can be seen in the continued popularity of difficult, skill-based games like Dead Cells (2018) and Hades (2020), which, while more narratively driven, share JASEM’s emphasis on mastery and repetition. JASEM may not have spawned imitators, but it stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of games that prioritize gameplay over everything else.

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Conclusion: A Flawed but Essential Arcade Experience

JASEM: Just Another Shooter with Electronic Music is not a game for everyone. It is brutal, uncompromising, and deliberately stripped of the narrative and accessibility features that define modern gaming. But for those who seek a pure, challenging arcade experience, it is a gem—a game that rewards skill, patience, and a willingness to embrace failure.

Its legacy is not one of commercial success or critical acclaim, but of defiance. In a world where games are increasingly expected to be “cinematic” or “immersive,” JASEM stands as a reminder that sometimes, all a game needs is tight mechanics, a great soundtrack, and the courage to be difficult.

Final Verdict: 7.5/10 – A cult classic for hardcore arcade enthusiasts, but not for the faint of heart.

JASEM is a game that will frustrate as often as it thrills, but for those who stick with it, it offers a rare, unfiltered arcade experience—a testament to the enduring power of pure gameplay.