Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
Shantae: Half Genie Hero is the latest installment of the Shantae series, after being successfully Kickstarted back in 2013 and easily surpassing its $400,000 goal. I believe they used this money well to improve the game both visually and audibly. I have not ever played Pirates Curse, and so this will not be a comparison between the two.
Positives:
Fantastic Visuals
Half Genie Hero got a serious visual update compared to other Shantae games, and it really pays off. With smooth 60 FPS animation, the game is stunning to behold and has detailed backgrounds often with many things going on in them as well (If you wait long enough in Mermaid Falls Factory, Bolo passes by on a hook with a fish attached to his head). This visual improvement ensures that people who are deterred from older pixelated graphics won’t miss out on the classic Shantae character and platforming appeal.
– Real player with 35.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Female Protagonist Indie Games.
A great addition to the Shantae line of games that have become big favorites of mine. To start off, 2D animation amongst 3D shaded backgrounds looks sharp! I was a little surprised at first, because I had played Shantae so much in it’s pixel art form, but this new style WayForward has adopted for the series is fantastic and I got used to it fairly quickly. That also including the control scheme which is very snappy and responsive! Shantae has become a living realtime cartoon and it is a major factor that I’m so glad the series now has.
– Real player with 32.3 hrs in game
Shantae: Risky’s Revenge - Director’s Cut
Let me start off by saying, I was very skeptical of purchasing this game at first. The reason? I had played the original Shantae on the Gameboy Color when I was younger and wasn’t too big a fan of it, however I pushed on and tried out this game and I honestly have no regrets with my purchase at all. This game felt like an honest masterpiece to me and I enjoyed playing through the game multiple times. It has a great design with the sprites and art work, great music, great storyline and characters. Was just interesting to me overall and felt pretty close to a Metroid type game, which I love seeing as I’ve been a Metroid nerd ever since I was younger (Metroid Prime 4 and Super Metroid HD pls.) Anyways, besides that, let’s get into it!
– Real player with 60.1 hrs in game
I am going to try my best NOT to fanboy about this game or even this series. Oh who am I kidding I love this game and I love the Shantae series. Granted this is only my third favourite in the series but Risky’s Revenge is still a really great game just purely for what it did do for the series and how it improved on what the first game established in it’s gameplay and how after this Pirates Curse came and the rest was history even if this is still a somewhat obscure and niche series. Well about as niche as a series everyone keeps demanding the main Character be added to Smash Bro’s can be. But hey, at least she’s a better pick for the roster than Doom Guy. Yes, people actually want Doom Guy for Smash. And people wonder why I hate the saying “Listen to the fans.”
– Real player with 18.0 hrs in game
Blood of the Werewolf
This is one of the most underrated games that I have seen. I have no idea why it only has mixed reviews. It is a really solid platformer that I enjoyed just as much as highly acclaimed games like Trine, Guacamelee or Shovel Knight. Maybe it is slightly worse than those 3 but definitely not as much to justify such a huge difference in rating.
The game has 10 regular levels and 5 boss fights. The boss fights don’t really have any replay value but the regular levels have a ton of it, which is one of the biggest strengths of the game. I replayed all the levels many times because I was motivated to get all the collectibles and complete each level in a fast time and without dying.
– Real player with 24.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Female Protagonist Indie Games.
Overall 7/10 - Hunting the achievements down is addicting as there seems to be a challenge for everything.
Pros:
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I got the game for $0.99
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Devs just put out a big update for free
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125 Achievements
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4 Steam Trading Card drops
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Good gamepad support
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Rebindable buttons/keys for both gamepad and keyboard
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Multiple resolution options + Antialiasing + Windowed/Fullscreen + Framerate cap options all working as they should
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Voice acting in all level transitions
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3 Game Modes (Normal, Score Rush, Endless)
– Real player with 8.2 hrs in game
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse
After playing this game for more than 40 hours, I think I can finally write a review on this one.
Where do I even begin?
First of all, this is a mix between a metroidvania and a platformer.
In this game, you don’t transform into animals like in the other games, but you use some nice pirate gear!
You may play Risky’s Revenge before this one, but it isn’t necesarry at all.
I won’t tell you the story here, I think it’d be best if you play the game and get to experience the story without just reading through everything.
– Real player with 86.2 hrs in game
This is what I call an improvement!
If you check my profile, you can see that I played and reviewed an earlier installment of the series: Risky’s Revenge. While it was lacking in some aspects it was cool enough that after the convincing gameplays I decided to jump back to the series. This is definitely more fun and polished game and I can easily say it is worth your interest with only few hiccups along the way. If the game is solid, then I’m more than happy to nitpick some issues for further ironing out for the next Wayfoward’s game. Criticism makes excellence!
– Real player with 22.3 hrs in game
25 Layers of Pain
A very well thought out (and cruel) platformer for those that enjoy a good challenge. Definitely worth checking out, if you enjoyed Cat Mario style twists, this is for you
– Real player with 4.7 hrs in game
hell
– Real player with 4.6 hrs in game
Alone In a Dream
The Dream Witch lives in a Dreamworld with her only friend, Mr. Prestone.
One day, darkness comes into the Dreamworld, and they kidnap Mr. Prestone.
She goes through the darkness of the world alone to get Mr. Prestone back.
This game is to manipulate the Dream witch with a light 2D platformer game to drive out the darkness that dominates the stage by going through stages and puzzles.
Demon Turf
Great 3D platformer, and like any great 3D platformer, it has great controls, this game has the most precision in jumping I’ve seen in a 3D platformer in a while, though most platforming “questions” can be simply answered with a jump, spin, and long jump. Though there are some spotty jumps, most of the levels are designed in a way that lets me get to a sort of platforming zen where everything flows smoothly and I can land every jump. Definitely one of the most forgiving jump mechanics due to the addition of the drift spin and the long jump I feel. I played it with a keyboard and mouse.
– Real player with 30.7 hrs in game
To put it short, Demon Turf is a difficult, yet fun 3D platformer. This game by no means is a walk in the park and will require you to master the movement and physics to overcome many of its challenges, and that’s not a bad thing. The movement in this game is extremely fun and fluid when you learn how to properly use your skill set in conjunction with one another, however it will probably take some time and frustration to make it that far, especially to those unfamiliar with technical platformers. The visual style for most of the game is great as well, which is what really pulled me in from the beginning, and the music is an absolute treat as well going from chill beats you can zen out with to the punk tracks that accompany Beebz’s mission. Overall a worthwhile experience if you’re willing to take the time required to learn.
– Real player with 21.8 hrs in game
DREAMWORLD
DREAMWORLD is a 2D Platform / Puzzle game, in which the player controls three characters, each with different powers, and he must use them to advance through the levels. The objective is to free the goddess Zuri, guardian of Dreamworld.
Freedom Planet
Score
✰90%✰
Pros
~Bright, vivid visuals
~Worthy soundtrack
~Genius level design
~Consistently fun throughout
Cons
~Uneven difficulty balance
~Mixed bag plot/voice acting
Freedom Planet came about as the result of a Sonic the Hedgehog fan game coming to the realisation that it could probably be sold for actual money if it dropped references to Sega’s intellectual property and threw in some “original” characters instead.
And by “original,” I mean original in the Sonic the Hedgehog original character sense.
– Real player with 62.9 hrs in game
With the release of Sonic Mania, i feel that it is time to talk about this wonderful game.
“What is Freedom Planet?” you may be asking. Freedom Planet was a game that originally was a Sonic The Hedgehog ROM Hack, but after the creators deciding that they could make a unique game out of it, they built a new engine from scratch, removing all the likenesses of sonic, and after they did that, they went to kickstarter to fund the game. After some overwhelming success, they went on to produce and publish the game today, known as Freedom Planet.
– Real player with 39.0 hrs in game
Frogun
Become the best explorer in the land in this cute, charming retro themed adventure!
Renata’s parents are world-renown explorers, archeologists and inventors that travel all over the world uncovering the secrets of the past, bringing her with them in their expeditions. However, in their latest adventure, they decide to leave her at the base camp - the Beelzebub ruins are said to be too dangerous!
For three whole days she waits, her pride hurt and bored out of her mind, until she realized: if they haven’t returned yet, something must have happened to them! In a hurry she grabs her parents' last invention, the Frogun, and heads to the ruins to rescue them, and prove that she’s as capable as them!
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Explore colorful levels full of crispy pixelated ruins, in a modern representation of the lowpoly aesthetic.
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From levers to buttons, lethal traps and adorable enemies, there’s lots of things to use your Frogun on.
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Find secrets or shortcuts by mastering the grappling mechanics.
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Unfold an extra layer of lore by finding all exploration notes.
