Recent reviews by Alice in Translation

eXceed 3rd is, overall, a solid doujin bullet hell, suitable both for beginners new to the genre and more experienced shmup players. Come for the flashy bullet spam, stay for the awesome music.

The gameplay is simple and fun: you've got your basic shot, your focused shot, a laser attack that uses your gauge, and your get-out-of-jail-free bombs. The point multiplier system is relatively simple, and will increase the faster you destroy enemies. This is the only real thing you need to think about when doing high score runs: where to use your laser attack so that it will destroy the most enemies. It puts all the focus on dodging bullets.

The bullet patterns and stages themselves are fast and furious. While the focus is mainly on speed, there are a few slow-moving attacks thrown in the mix to really get your blood pumping. Add that to the completely terrific soundtrack by S.S.H. and this game is a keeper.

eXceed 3rd may be on the easy side for bullet hell experts; hard mode offers a decent challenge, but it's certainly not on the same level as, say, CAVE games, so it won't take nearly as much time to clear the game. If you're a more casual player, definitely give this a shot whether you're new to the genre or not. It even offers and auto-bomb option which makes the game a whole heck of a lot easier.

Protip: you can turn the voices off if they're not your thing.