Game Groups > Genre: Bullet hell / Danmaku

Bullet hell, or danmaku (Japanese for "bullet curtain"), describes a type of action game in which the player is tasked with dodging enormous numbers of enemy bullets, often in elaborate patterns. Games in this genre expect players to use both reflexes and precise movements in order to survive. Risk versus reward is also a common element in these games, as many of them reward players for such things as getting as close as possible to bullets without getting hit, or weaving through the bullet rain in order to collect special items or powerups.

While bullet hell was originally just a subgenre of shoot-em-ups, the genre's gameplay has more recently been mixed with other types of games as well. Games in this group therefore do not necessarily need to be pure shmups.