Ashes of Immortality II - Bad Blood
Ashes of Immortality II - Bad Blood
Game
Game2015
Pester
Developer Flump Studios
A blast from Flump Studios past! Pester was released on Xbox live indies back in early 2013 and was Flump Studios first game developed for public release. A remake of one of my early C64 games, Pester is a very fast paced and busy retro vertical shooter. From the Steam store page
70 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 23, 2026 · last updated Oct 24, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
38
Rotten
21 positive · 34 negative
95% range 27–51%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 21 | 34 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
28 of 64 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
39% recommend · 22 yes, 35 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 57 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (65 of 121 positive).
Some players enjoy the retro bullet-hell style and low price. [1][2][3] Others criticize the game as unpolished, with blurry graphics and bugs. [4][5][6] Many find it too simplistic or repetitive for a shmup. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [1]
--- WARNING: There is a large crashing bug in this game whenever you try to set the resolution to 1920x1080. You can change to other resolutions (though there are only 3 options), but getting to 1080p is impossible. I personally love this game, and love seeing it again for such a great price, and I will be recommending it, but please keep this in mind. --- I am a fan of bullet hell games, and this gives a goold old …
- [2]
So hectic and fun! So much happening on the screen but never confusing. As a fan of SHMUPS this is a great way to spend a few hours. For one dollar its a must own for SHMUP Fans I Give this Game An 10 Out Of 10
- [7]
Pester is a bullet hail arcade-style vertical scrolling space shooter and its biggest selling point is the cheap price of one dollar. For that alone, I can recommend the game, its worth the price, but looking deeper into the game, its a shallow, bare bones arcade experience that is only one step above classic Atari age retro arcade games. The game has two modes, arcade that gives you three lives and tempest which is …
- [4]
Blurry sprite scaling with "programmer art" assets, obvious sprite mismatches in the time attack mode, and a general feel of being a mediocre school project make me question why this game is on Steam. There are many better examples of SHMUPS, danmaku, bullet hell games; don't waste your time with this one. Bought it for the cards, 3/10 would not recommend. Edit: All in-game achievements done after ~90 minutes of …
- [8]
Looks and feel very simple, basic. There is not much in this game, not enough content or polish to gameplay itself, Waste of time, I don't recommend this game at all.
Summarised from 34 of the 70 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 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
39% of the 57 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Pester. The complaint that keeps coming up: blurry sprite scaling and poor graphics. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Reactions
60 of 70 · most liked firstPester is a bullet hail arcade-style vertical scrolling space shooter and its biggest selling point is the cheap price of one dollar. For that alone, I can recommend the game, its worth the price, but looking deeper into the game, its a shallow, bare bones arcade experience that is only one step above classic Atari age retro arcade games. The game has two modes, arcade that gives you three lives and tempest which is just a boss rush with one life. Each mode forces you to select tweaks to the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →--- WARNING: There is a large crashing bug in this game whenever you try to set the resolution to 1920x1080. You can change to other resolutions (though there are only 3 options), but getting to 1080p is impossible. I personally love this game, and love seeing it again for such a great price, and I will be recommending it, but please keep this in mind. --- I am a fan of bullet hell games, and this gives a goold old style feel considering its of course a newer game. Techno-grumble style music…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Simple and feels a little bit rough. Controls are ok and stages are ok too. Not much to say else except ok music. Slight recommendation for shoot 'em up fans.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Supposedly a remake of a c64 game and unfortunately... it shows.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Anyway, it's my birthday next week and I'm planning a Birthday Stream to give away codes to my indie game during it. If you want to make my birthday the best birthday ever - buy Ghost Hunter Simulator! Tell others! Buy it for your friends! Pester your favorite streamer to play it!
neutral · AI labelView post →So hectic and fun! So much happening on the screen but never confusing. As a fan of SHMUPS this is a great way to spend a few hours. For one dollar its a must own for SHMUP Fans I Give this Game An 10 Out Of 10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Blurry sprite scaling with "programmer art" assets, obvious sprite mismatches in the time attack mode, and a general feel of being a mediocre school project make me question why this game is on Steam. There are many better examples of SHMUPS, danmaku, bullet hell games; don't waste your time with this one. Bought it for the cards, 3/10 would not recommend. Edit: All in-game achievements done after ~90 minutes of play, and there's a hitbox bug in the asteroid mode too. Not much content to be…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pester the fuck outta Mastercard Visa till they get the hint. Sex work, whether that be photography, game development, art, or other means, IS STILL *WORK*!! It shouldn't be their choice on how we spend/make money so long as it's legal. Their job is to PROCESS, NOT RESTRICT. Spread the message!!!
neutral · AI labelView post →IT'S FINALLY OUT!! sbhunter.itch.io/diligent-bot... I'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT LITTLE BY LITTLE FOR *MONTHS* AND NOW IT'S TIME TO PESTER *EVERYONE* ABOUT IT but maybe after I got a day or two of rest first #ttrpg #solorpg #solojournaling #indiedev #focusgame #productivity
positive · AI labelView post →Won't run if Windows Media Player isn't installed.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an unsuccessful attempt to emulate arcade shooting experience despite they've even implemented background sounds of a crowded mall here, along with scanlines & screen reflections. The pixel art looks blurry, sprites in both sets are hardly perceptible so I have troubles visually separating shots from bonuses & ships in the heat of action, most of the time there's a mess on the small screen. The gameplay itself has little value, just a generic vertical shmup with loose hitboxes.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very basic but challenging bullet hell arcade shoot em up. The graphics are somewhat poor but the gameplay is unforgiving. For the low price it is recommendable for genre fans
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good old retro styled cabin shmup. Buy this for a dollar is you are a shmup fan with a arcade stick :D
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Simple, but effective shooter. Having first played some of Mr. Marrable's (the developer's) more recent efforts, this game does indeed come off as slightly amateurish in comparison. Make no mistake, however, despite the more primitive look and feel, there is definitely a great deal of fun to be had!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Raiden meets Galaga, bullets flying everywhere. You'll die a lot, and you'll love doing it. I can't recommend it enough if you like either of the games I mentioned above. Classic gameplay, re-vitalized.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Flashback to when my kids were tiny and mastered the art of glitching 'Professor Pester' to float endlessly in the air, repeating 'Ha ha ha!' for the whole game in Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise 🤣 …
positive · AI labelView post →COME FEAST YOUR EYES, FOR I, RHEA, HAVE RETURNED TO PESTER YOU ALL WITH A NEW GACHA GAME 🔽🔽 www.twitch.tv/deusrhea_ #vtuber | #pgr | #punishinggrayraven | #twitch
neutral · AI labelView post →cell liquefactive necrosis
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Probably one of the worst bullet hell arcade shooters you could probably get on steam for a $1.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Retro shmup with basic gameplay and cool music that emits nostalgic vibe. Kinda hard to give that kind of game thumbs down, eh? :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →10/10 would beta test again very good for a $
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My gambling addict friend said if I post a review on Pester and it gets 350 likes and 150 Awards that he will buy me a case of beer and some vodka So im just gonna leave this here.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a nightmare, I like it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Feels like I'm playing a Game Maker tutorial level.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unpolished retro SHMUP. There's very little to say about it because it's not original, it's not great, it's not _horribly bad_... It's just bad. Might've played it in 1995 or something, but even then it would've been decent at best.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A small win as I knocked New Pokémon Snap off the backlog last night. It suffers by being less silly than the original N64 game, but still has a pleasing gameplay loop. I missed Pester Balls... Hmm, what next?
neutral · AI labelView post →tons of versions of this that are way more fun and most of them are free
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is pretty bad, it plays and looks like a bottom of the barrel app game. there's almost no animation to speak of, its basically just still images. i got this game in a bundle and i wouldn't even recommend it if it was free.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unfair, way too many enemies at parts, which makes it almost impossible to beat. Not to mention it also looks and feels like a flash game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good enough for what it is, and what it is - is a budget title. 14 times bundled at time of this review and on sale for 54 cents. You definitely get your value out of that.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey everyone and this is my review about the game! This is a bad spaceship game. Interface/Menu/Settings You can only change the music volume between 0-10. You can't change the sound. There are some Resolution sizes. Pressing Q will change full screen or windowed mode. You can toggle vibration :D. You are able to play this game with a xbox controller. About the game. You play with a spaceship and you move to left or right and your job is to destroy the enemy ships on your path. You will…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Looks and feel very simple, basic. There is not much in this game, not enough content or polish to gameplay itself, Waste of time, I don't recommend this game at all.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Having read that this was a remake of a very old game, and having played a lot of games as a kid on a Commodore 64, I was excited for a good bit of nostalgia. The C64 sported these amazing specs: 1 MHz CPU! 64 kB of RAM! 320x200 pixel 16-color monitor! It was such an incredible machine back then, and just as incredible now, but for different reasons. I got the retro feel I was looking for. It's a good remake, in the sense of improving the graphics. If anything, they should not be so good,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yeah I got a strong pull out game. Pester me to skip a condom and I'll instantly pull myself out of the situation.
neutral · AI labelView post →My recording shows I've been hit by phantom (invisible) bullets. I don't know if it's because of resolution shenanigans with existing bullets or whatever but it's very noticeable after a while and I can't even aim for a clear of the first loop that way. Unfortunate.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ultimately a very simplistic and repetitive shmup that could use some more intentional wave/pattern design and really any features beyond bare bones shoot-em-up elements. Has the look and feel of a project that was probably very educational for the developer, but a few projects or a lot of revision away from something worth buying.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The shooting sounds doesn't even try to fit to the firing bullets. Also, the music volume settings for some reason are not saving for me, so every time I start this game again I need to go to option on turn it down.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Music Way Too Loud. Any time you exit the options menu it resets to fullscreen, even if you've toggled that off. It responds to keyboard input even when not in focus sometimes. It feels like someone's first topdown shooter. They did really well at everything the tutorial covered, but there's rough spots here and there, and the tutorial had some significant gaps.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pester pros: //modern day graphics cons: //static background/location never changes //a lot of difficult battles //losing is a grindfest (backtracking and all enemies respawn) //sucks
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I play this when I'm bored and have money to spend.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →God Eater creator acknowledges fan demand for a new game, urges players to PESTER Bandai Namco directly 🔥 During a Famitsu stream, Hiroshi Yoshimura said the team knows fans want a new entry. No announcement yet, but he asked players to contac... #SteamAndEpic #Bandai #Eater #Namco #God #Yoshimura
neutral · AI labelView post →Wanna PESTer your friends in a game of Commander?! Blech, Loafing Pest is the deck for you! Magic: The Gathering #magicthegathering #mtg #mtgcommunity #mtgcommander youtube.com/shorts/YMGSH...
neutral · AI labelView post →Assuming the US makes it to the final, uncharacteristically, I want that line to poke, prod, nudge, rub out, push, annoy, line up, hit, block, chirp, elbow and consistently PESTER the Tkachuks ALL. GAME. LONG. Give THEM a taste of their own medicine. 🖕🤬 Piss. Them. Off. #GoCanadaGo🏒🇨🇦
neutral · AI labelView post →Pester, developed by Flump Studios and published by Funbox Media Ltd, is an uncompromising throwback to the raw intensity of classic arcade shoot ’em ups. It strips the genre back to its essentials—movement, firepower, pattern recognition, and survival—and builds an experience that is unapologetically focused on challenge and score chasing rather than narrative framing or modern accessibility. From the moment play begins, it is clear that Pester is not interested in easing players in gently;…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🧠 Converting 3500+ #Pester tests from v4→v5 with AI 👩💻 @funbucket.dev on how #AI tools sped up migration — and why v6 will be easier. ▶️ Watch: youtu.be/ajlniR3X0U8?si=5rE... 🎟️ #PSConfEU 2026 → psconf.eu #PowerShell #Automation #DevOps - YouTube
neutral · AI labelView post →Cheap bullet hell shooter with basic modes, muddy visuals, imprecise controls and frustrating invisible bullet issues
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Poor bullet hell shmup. You would be better off with a free flash game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ultimately a very simplistic and repetitive shmup that could use some more intentional wave/pattern design and really any features beyond bare bones shoot-em-up elements. Has the look and feel of a project that was probably very educational for the developer, but a few projects or a lot of revision away from something worth buying.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's complete garbage. Not even worth a cent. It hurt to play the whole 6 minutes just so I could tell you not to get this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a middle effort shoot'emup. There's a modest variety of enemies and fairly interesting bosses. Unfortunately there's no 4K support. The art assets are fairly simplistic and low effort. The game is very low resolution and looks fuzzy if you push it up to 1080p. Controls and collision connection are a little off which makes the game unpleasantly more difficult than it should be. There's no proper fullscreen - it's just scaled up. Overall there's not enough quality and too…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →BEST GAME OF THE YEAR !
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meeting Professor Pester 🙈🙈 The main villain of game #VivaPinata #XboxOne #RareReplay
positive · AI labelView post →💡 Converting 3500+ Pester tests from v4 to v5 using AI and why v6 will be easy 👨🏫 @funbucket.dev - Creator, dbatools.io 🗓️ 14 Oct | #PSConfEU MiniCon 👉 Free ticket: synedgy.com/psconfeu-minicon #PowerShell #automation #Pester
neutral · AI labelView post →💡 Converting 3500+ Pester tests from v4 to v5 using AI and why v6 will be easy 👨🏫 @funbucket.dev - Creator, dbatools.io 🗓️ 14 Oct | #PSConfEU MiniCon 👉 Free ticket: synedgy.com/psconfeu-minicon #PowerShell #automation #Pester
neutral · AI labelView post →Ooo, only one interference? I'll have to up my annoying game. Pester pester pester.
neutral · AI labelView post →Flump Studios is an appropriate name.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am 32 years old. My ex-wife and I have a daughter together, and we adopted our son together. Both are now 4 years old. When we were going through our separation, I felt lost and unhappy. I was self-destructive. One day, I was so angry with everything spiraling out of control that I punched a concrete wall in a moment of overwhelming emotion. This resulted in breaking my fifth metacarpal in my right hand—the hand I worked with, played games with, and used to carry my children to bed—the hand…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not bad for a SHMUP practice!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pester is unfortunately just way too unpolished. I'm usually quite into retro-inspired games, tbh. But this one really doesn't have any enjoyment. It starts at the settings, truly not much in there. You can't even change the sound, which is bad. Especially since this game is actually very loud. The controls are rough, the visuals are horrible. I don't think this would be fun, even in the 80s. The fact, that it was made in 2013 is really sad. It requires Windows Media Player to even start.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →garbage. game isn't fun, I think has a slight input lag, doesn't stay in windowed mode, you just ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ explode randomly with no enemy or bullet in sight even though you supposedly have a small hitbox, which of course is awful for the survival mode where you only have one life, there's no clever design at all just random enemy spam and just overall the game's a sack of ♥♥♥♥. I only have this game because of a bundle. I keep opening the game every now and then trying to give it a fair chance…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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