VASARA Collection
VASARA Collection
Game
Game2017
Graze Counter
Developer Bikkuri Software
Graze the enemy’s bullets, Charge them head-on, and Wreak Havoc!!An exhilarating and dangerous shoot-em-up! This is a game for those with courage and survival instinct! From the Steam store page
167 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Aug 24, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
91
LovedLoved
128 positive · 12 negative
95% range 86–95%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 128 | 12 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
137 of 149 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
92% recommend · 130 yes, 12 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 142 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (303 of 318 positive).
Players praise the unique graze counter mechanic that rewards close calls with powerful attacks. [1][2][3] Many find the game accessible for beginners while still offering challenge for veterans. [4][5][6] Some reviewers criticize the short length, high price, and anime schoolgirl presentation. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [8]
I didn't like the presentation with no proper intro and the minimally drawn anime schoolgirls. I didn't like there were so many options and tutorial screens before getting into the game itself. I didn't like the story or lack thereof with the nonsensical monologue interludes between levels. I didn't like the limited number of levels (5) and short length of around 45 minutes for one run. And I didn't like the high …
- [1]
Graze Counter is a blast to play, in every sense of the word; it plays different than any other bullet hells I've played all because of its unique gameplay mechanic, the titular Graze Counter. This game has an emphasis on grazing (i.e. narrowly avoiding) enemy projectiles, but the game is built around it and - most importantly - actively rewards the player for doing so. In most bullet hell games, you only have a …
- [2]
A fun little indie shooter with a 16bit aesthetic. The basic concept of the game is that you build up a meter by grazing (being near) enemy bullets. When the meter is high enough, you can activate a laser counter attack that destroys enemy bullets. The ability to frequently cancel enemy bullets combined with fairly generous slow down makes this game more relaxed than most shooters. I was able to clear expert mode …
- [7]
Graze Counter is a good game! Interestingly enough, I think that this game could be an 'all-time great' game (both within its genre and generally speaking) were it not for a few issues holding it back. Ultimately, Graze Counter gets my recommendation but I'd suggest picking it up on sale as $10 USD for the current build of the game seems high. Pros: + The 'Graze Counter' and 'Break' mechanics are very fun and feel …
- [4]
The ideal shmup for beginners. Even a complete noob like me can 1CC this game's Easy mode :-) Lots of replayability thanks to the variety of modes and characters. Very good value for money.
Summarised from 34 of the 169 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Graze Counter sits at 91% positive across 140 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 167 · most liked firstGraze Counter is a blast to play, in every sense of the word; it plays different than any other bullet hells I've played all because of its unique gameplay mechanic, the titular Graze Counter. This game has an emphasis on grazing (i.e. narrowly avoiding) enemy projectiles, but the game is built around it and - most importantly - actively rewards the player for doing so. In most bullet hell games, you only have a limited supply of what I refer to as "bombs", which are defensive, clear the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →double doujin STG day today, PC & Switch: BLAZE OF STORM, the new 10th-anniv caravan-style game from Terarin https://store.steampowered.com/app/3513070/Blaze_of_Storm/ Revolgear Zero, the new hori from Graze Counter dev Bikkuri Software https://store.steampowered.com/app/3941820/Revolgear_Zero/
neutral · AI labelView post →A fun little indie shooter with a 16bit aesthetic. The basic concept of the game is that you build up a meter by grazing (being near) enemy bullets. When the meter is high enough, you can activate a laser counter attack that destroys enemy bullets. The ability to frequently cancel enemy bullets combined with fairly generous slow down makes this game more relaxed than most shooters. I was able to clear expert mode with Type-1 after about 2 hours using no continues and with 2 deaths. If you want…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cool old school shoot 'em up with waifus.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Graze enemy bullets to power up your special attacks. No matter which character you choose from - each have it's own weapons and shooting pattern. Nonetheless pretty good shooter. Make sure to grab the new GM version for some expanded content.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is probably as close as you'll ever get to experiencing true bliss in a videogame. If you even have an ounce of love for the genre, then do you part and buy this masterpiece. 10/10, will keep playing again, and again, and again.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GRAZE COUNTER is like playing a Danmaku Shooter in slow motion, which works for me. It's a constant game of navigating the maze of plasma bullets. #SHMUP #STG #Gaming #NowPlaying #STEAM #IndieGame
positive · AI labelView post →Nice old school shoot them up. Plus this game is DRM-free.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I didn't like the presentation with no proper intro and the minimally drawn anime schoolgirls. I didn't like there were so many options and tutorial screens before getting into the game itself. I didn't like the story or lack thereof with the nonsensical monologue interludes between levels. I didn't like the limited number of levels (5) and short length of around 45 minutes for one run. And I didn't like the high difficulty and barrages of bullets that sometimes seemed unavoidable without the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey, this game is actually really fun! I didn't expect much because this looks like a niche title, but the gameplay mechanics and music are great! I guess I should have trusted all of those positive reviews!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An amazing shmup. It's a bit short, but it's very well-polished and has a lot of replay value. Plus the characters are very cute. Well worth the price.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not normally a fan of grazing in shooters but it's very generous and rewarding in this game. Really clean look, great soundtrack, some unlockables. Not very difficult on Novice or Arcade. I think it's up there with Blue Revolver and Mecharitz as far as super tight indie "shumps" on Steam.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DAMN!!! this is retro!!! LOVING IT ALREADY!!! cool characters kawaii indeed ^_^ ill pick this one uhhh sheild tipe three to choose from cool nice to have options on that so this ones cool... dificulty easy whats that?? nehh arcade yes!! ok tutorial woahhh weird...seems i have two bars i can fill up ehh ill just skip it and figure it out myself... ok so this button is shoot and move around ok got it nothing new this one slows my ship down quite a bit thats useful im sure ok shooting everything…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Graze Counter is a good game! Interestingly enough, I think that this game could be an 'all-time great' game (both within its genre and generally speaking) were it not for a few issues holding it back. Ultimately, Graze Counter gets my recommendation but I'd suggest picking it up on sale as $10 USD for the current build of the game seems high. Pros: + The 'Graze Counter' and 'Break' mechanics are very fun and feel intuitive for this genre of game. + Sound effects / musical score + Visual…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not recommended, unless you are a big time retro bullet hell shmup fan. This is not a bad game, but the 99% positive reviews is very misleading. I enjoyed the graphic style, comfortable movement of the ship and the interesting grazing mechanic combined with the break ability. Unfortunately, I have a hard time recommending it because of a few downsides, such as the lackluster audio, terrible HUD that obstructs the game screen and a boring attempt at a story.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My late night SHMUPathon continues with an epic session of GRAZE COUNTER GM. This game is lots of fun with some very satisfying gameplay. #SHMUP #Gaming
positive · AI labelView post →Vertical bullet hell. Tight controls. Leans deep into the bullet grazing. Various playstyles and fun counter mechanism. Great retro presentation, graphics and sound. Addictive and fun. Listed on the [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40858110-Shoot-%2527em-up-Database/]Shoot 'em up Database
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it is very short an sweet, BUT DAMN, if it isn't one of the hypest shmups I have ever seen I'm super excited for the remake now, definitely gonna buy it on day 1
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The ideal shmup for beginners. Even a complete noob like me can 1CC this game's Easy mode :-) Lots of replayability thanks to the variety of modes and characters. Very good value for money.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Graze Counter is a 2D retro pixel arcade shootemup with a Japanese manga theme (being from Japan this is unsurprising). There's a litany of problems here. While you can customise the keyboard controls, they still don't make any sense and don't conform to PC conventions. The graphics are terrible, lazy pixel graphics. The game plays pillarboxed and you can't alter the resolution. Gameplay is quite bad as the controls are sluggish. $10 for such poor quality and lack of polish and effort…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Graze Counter is a charming Bullhell from upstart developers Bikkuri Software, and they did a damn good job for their first title on steam. The visuals are clean and crisp, controls are tight and it offers a new take on the old mechanic of “grazing.” It isn't as hard as say most things made by CAVE or the like; so if you're just starting off enjoying Danmanku give it an extra point. Not to say it's easy, there's the great “Unlimited” mode which should give most a run for their money. Also a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →WOW WHAT A RUSH! I had tingles all over experiencing this AMAZING GAME! Its got that intensity that hearkens back to the classic Bullet Hell SHMUP days, but the mechanics allow even newcomers to jump into the action! The soundtrack is badass and the dialouge makes for a pretty interesting storyline. The localization is pretty decent and I highly recommend this game for a stroll. Don't miss out!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Graze Counter GM this week. It's easier than the typical shmup, but still plenty of modes and difficulty levels for anyone seeking a challenge. It's fun, but not exactly Hellsinker or Crimzon Clover—I don't really expect to be replaying it forever. The typical run is also shorter? It took me 20 minutes to 1CC vs 35 minutes for Crimzon Clover. I'd recommend grabbing it for less than $5, but I wouldn't say it's a "must play" shmup.
neutral · AI labelView post →Shooting Game Builder on Steam is discounted so I got it. Not going to start yet ANOTHER project. I have two incomplete ones already. I'm just piqued since some really excellent games were made from it like Graze Counter, Infinos Gaiden, Andro Dunos II, and Grand Cross: Renovation.
neutral · AI labelView post →Great shmup for any skill level. It's fun to graze passed bullets and charge your meter, and lots of different ships and defense types to play around with (some of them are unlocks by beating the game but it allows unlimited continues so if it's pretty easy to unlock them if you're patient enough. The special attack is both a score multiplier AND a bomb, and it charges so fast you'll be very aggressive with it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its a very fun shoot em up, i highly recommend it if you feel ikaruga is too hard, this is still challenging, but i can atleast get past the second level the rules are pretty simple, get near enemy bullets to "graze" em, this builds your "counter" meter, activate your counter to fire a huge laser that deals a lot of damage to enemies and destroys projectiles, projectiles destroyed this way turn into yellow stars, collect those to build up your "break" meter, activate your break to destroy all…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THRASH: Intentionally impossible-to-dodge attacks, indistinct background, and a headache-inducing gameplay all come together to give you an illusion of a difficult shooter: It's not, it's just thrash.[url=store.steampowered.com/curator/36549724-GEM-or-THRASH/] Click here to follow the curator: GEM or THRASH
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Graze Counter is a pretty cool Shoot Em Up game, reminds me a bit at old Shoot Em Up games. Hard levels, easy controls, missions, cute girls, a bit like old school, a lot of fun, well designed stages. Have an open eye for this game it's recommendable. You should try it out by yourself. [8/10] Points
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tommy, Cave type shooter game, Tribute to the bullet shooting game of the 90 's and 2000' s such as 68 k of super shots, the best! !
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I tried this demo, was pretty fun! I’ll have to keep an eye on this. The Graze Counter team also just came out with their new game and that has been reeeeal fun so far.
neutral · AI labelView post →I will be playing Graze Counter GM and Grand Cross RE:Novation back to back around 11 EST on twitch.tv/retrogamingl... This afternoon I will be joining forces with @thebigmike1983.bsky.social to mark dragons and steel rabbits
neutral · AI labelView post →Almost done with every character clear in Graze Counter GM and I still have this song firmly lodged in my skull, absolutely has that incredible arcade game select screen banger vibe to it
positive · AI labelView post →"Revolgear Zero," from Bikkuri Software (creators of "Graze Counter GM") will be released on February 19th. Demos out now for Switch and Steam.
neutral · AI labelView post →How about Graze Counter GM? It seems like the kinda game you’re looking for, even if you’ve personally haven’t tried it (Removed my other reply because I sent the wrong picture)
neutral · AI labelView post →I mainly picked up this game because the ship from this game is in Graze Counter GM p.s. please play Graze Counter (GM)
positive · AI labelView post →u really graze counter
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun little bullet hell game with a decent story, sound track and amazing grazing mechanics. The closer you are to the bullets and enemies, the higher the multiplier until a max of 1000. Obviously I'm not amazing in these types of games, so I died, but the continue option makes it so that you can continue to play the game even after the death to complete the story, but not carry on your score (score being everything in these types of games). Highly recommend the game to any fan of the bullet…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good STG. Definite recommendation from me, especially for beginners, but even advanced/stronger players will potentially find a challence here on the harder difficulty modes.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very well designed shmup with enjoyable dynamic difficulty, though I feel it might be a little too easy on the normal difficulty. This game is practically designed around the problem of bomb hoarding and makes both grazing and bombing fun and natural for the player while keeping the tension up. It's not very long and with the lower difficulty I managed to 1cc normal on my second run but it's still worth playing.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't let the pixel graphics fool you. This game is an absolute treasure and I would reccomend it to any shmup enthusiast or person looking for a somewhat forgiving danmaku experience. The game features 3 difficulty levels to customize challenge and several unlockable characters each with alternate versions equipped with different weaponry and/or mechanics. The game also features multiple play modes with some designed to offer additional challenge and some designed to help the player step up…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →fun as heck STG, the graze counter mechanic makes the game absolutely exhilarating due to the sheer weight it carries and reward of using it: The game is not afraid to throw curtains of bullets at you (to the point of completely surrounding you, last boss I'm looking at you), the more you graze, the more often you can counter. Countering is your main defense mechanic as it clears bullets and renders you invincible if you counter at 100% capacity. It's akin to other STG "bomb" mechanics but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →one of the best shmups I have played. and that is coming from a CAVE fan.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great for novices!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Favorite: Sexy Parodius Least Favorite: any touhou game (for the culture) Sleeper: Graze Counter GM bsky.app/profile/wing...
neutral · AI labelView post →Devil Blade Reboot is SUPER good, love that game. Also stumbled on two shmups called Graze Counter GM and Revolgear Zero. These revolve around grazing and feel much more exciting to play despite having exploitable mechanics themselves due to how those feed back into making scoring exciting.
positive · AI labelView post →This game learns you some bad bad habits as you fly close into shots to get that critical graze counter to 100%. Without it you are too often just burnt toast against masses of enemies or big enemies / bosses in particular. And you want that limit break gauge to fill up too when those sweet sweet stars are released. So any difference to other games out there? Plenty. Graze counter is done well here. Not unique but the importance of charging up to counter just in the right moment has been…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game Review: Graze Counter Rating: 5/5 Genre: Bullet Hell / Shoot ’em Up Developer: Kimiaki Itoh Graze Counter is a thrilling bullet hell shoot ’em up that challenges players with its intense, fast-paced gameplay and complex enemy patterns. The game expertly balances high difficulty with rewarding mechanics, encouraging players to master the art of "grazing" — narrowly dodging bullets to rack up points and boost their survivability. What makes Graze Counter stand out is its smooth controls…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Chill bullet hell with a unique gimmick that makes it super approachable for folks who aren't accustomed to bullet hells. Really though, the game really urges you to keep using it since it's vital for survival, it's so broken as well since it eats at bullets and charges your break meter. All the shot type work fine, good music and balanced difficulty and a good price as well, highly recommend it if you're looking for a chill shmup!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →an excellent little shmup with nice chonky pixel art and superb risk/reward mechanics. a literal blast to play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good pixel graphic, interesting mechanic, heart-pumping soundtrack, multiple difficulty setting/mode, multiple unlockable characters, short but sweet run time, relatively cheap price, really, all you need from an indie shmup.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super easy recommendation for anyone who's even slightly into shmups. The grazing mechanic being tied to a gauge is nothing short of brilliant and leads to a really satisfying risk-centric banger of a game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Graze Counter is a straight-up dope SHMUP. It rests in the subgenre of graze-focused bullet hell that encourages risky behavior and clench maneuvers and it all just feels so rewarding and satisfying. I give it a very strong recommendation for fans of the genre.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An amazing shrump, short but sweet, completely polished and on top of all, friendly! Most people when they hear Shrumps / Danmaku Shooters / Shoot'em ups, they think stuff like Ikaruga, Ketsui, Touhou on Lunatic, etcetera. And no, not all shrumps are like that, and here is a good example. Shrumps aren't for everybody, but this game, among others, is friendly for everyone who is afraid of touching this genre.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gameplay: 10 Encourage you to brave the danger with the grazing system. Various setting for beginners and experts alike Graphic: 8 the shootemup part looks good, no complaint but the big portrait like those in omake folder looks weird, maybe the shoulders are too wide? the dot pixel portrait like during the boss fight and the full body dot pixel looks great though. Music: 10 The soundtrack is a must get! Sound Effect: 7 It's ok but nothing amazing Note: the megane heroine is a trap!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome shmup, what else is there tro say. Especially love the boss battles. Music is outstanding.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't like these kind of games.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Definitely one of the better modern bullet-hell type shmups out there now. Everything about it is top notch and polished. Controls is tight, gameplay is good, and sound and music are excellent, and art direction is great. Ever wanted to see how an 8-bit NES style bullet-hell shmup would look? This is it for you. The bullet grazing concept while not exactly new in the shmups genre, it's used quite well in this game. Only critique i have is that there is no actually way to exit the game from the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →that's what I call a shmup of quality, plus the soundtrack is an absolute banger and the mechanics are very well made. Too bad it doesn't have enough attention
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Highly-polished and fun little graze-based doujin shmup with great music and charming art that focuses on all the right things. Edit: Having put more time into this game, I can only further intensify my previous recommendation. The scoring mechanisms are great fun to experiment with, and the unlockable ships are really neat. A lot of effort clearly went into fine-tuning this game, and I'd especially recommend it to those looking for a fine entry point into the genre, or a nice…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is top notch shmup with an awesome grazing/buzzing mechanic. The Swarms of enemies in later levels are SO satisfying. I just wish it was longer :(
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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