Minishoot’ Adventures | PC Review
Imagine a new Zelda game. I’m not talking about the sprawling 3D adventures that graced our presence since the release of the Switch. I’m talking about the classics with an overhead view, dungeons to explore, secrets to uncover, and bosses to take down with newly acquired equipment. Now imagine replacing a young character in a green tunic carrying a sword and shield with a cute, sentient space ship. Oh, and it’s a twin-stick shooter. That pretty much sums up Minishoot’ Adventures from developer SoulGame Studio. Here’s the crazy part: I’m not typically a huge fan of bullet-hell shooters. But this title grabbed me immediately and wouldn’t let go. As of this writing, this (in my view) is one of the best games of the year that more people should be talking about.
A Childish Mind Will Turn to Noble Ambition
There’s very little narrative in Minishoot’ Adventures. You “awaken” from a crystal right after a disembodied voice beckons you to save them. Your goal is to explore an overworld in order to find four temples that unlock a final temple that houses an evil to be destroyed. Sound familiar? It should. This game even goes as far as to putting breakable clay pots in the environment for you to destroy. The comparisons to The Legend of Zelda are uncanny, but its contrasts are what make it stand out as unique. You have no melee weapons at your disposal. Instead, you take down enemy space ships with your cannon, the first upgrade you acquire. This combination of bullet hell and adventure mechanics is one that I never expected, but of which I desperately need more.
And that’s just the beginning. The overworld map is loads of fun to explore, offering rewards to make your journey easier and offering the satisfaction of discovery sorely missing from the majority of modern games. The upgrades aren’t cookie-cutter like you’d expect, either. You’ll get a dash ability early on, which might be standard for both of these genres. But the ability here also acts as a way to open the map further. The extra boost of speed allows you to take ramps at full speed into new areas previously unavailable to you. Later on you’ll access the ability to fly your ship over water for the same reason. Why a flying spaceship falls into deep water instead of simply gliding over it is a mystery, but I didn’t care. It’s just that much fun to play.
New skills come at such a good pace that the gameplay becomes the biggest attraction over anything else. The skill tree is very simple with upgrades that actually matter. There’s no “+5% damage options”. Instead, you assign points to skills that actually matter in the arcade sense of the word. Would you rather do more damage or make your bullets shoot faster? What’s great is that you can re-spec these points at any time in the game, even if you’re in the middle of a boss fight. Even more welcome is how readily available XP points are. If you’re struggling with a boss, just keep trying. Even if you die against one of these larger foes, you’re still earning towards your next skill point with each boss “form” defeated, a clever implementation I don’t remember seeing in a progression system before.
Young Love Will Become Deep Affection
Minishoot’ Adventure‘s tight controls are a massive selling point. Taking hits from enemy fire always felt like a poor judgment error on my fault instead of the game treating me unfairly. The difficulty rarely feels out of the realm of impossibility, but succeeded in making someone like me think they’re good at dodging thousands of bullets. Pulling off deftly-made maneuvers gave me quick adrenaline hits when the odds were very much against me. The ability to provide that sense of accomplishment without insane levels of skills or hours of practice is to be commended.
Another aspect that has to be mentioned is the music. This game could have easily been a success with a mediocre soundtrack, but the one provided is absolutely perfect. While exploring the overworld, the music doesn’t have a resounding patriotic theme like you’re used to in adventure games. Instead, the lo-fi grooves give a chill atmosphere, which was an unexpected surprise while being chased by countless projectiles. But it absolutely works here. The music kicks up a notch during boss battles, but never overwhelmingly so.
The lighting is also impressive considering this isn’t a game going for realism. As your ship moves towards pieces of the environment, they grow increasingly brighter (and vice-versa). One could argue that this isn’t something that’s needed for an indie title such as this, but I found it to be delightful. It’s little touches like this that show how much care went into making a quality experience.
Minishoot’ Adventures Final Verdict
Every once in a while, a game hits you at just the right time in your life. This was my experience with Minishoot’ Adventures. This title surprised me in more ways than one, and was nearly impossible to put down. The game does lack dungeon maps, and some sections ramp up the difficulty with frustrating one-hit kills, but these were hardly deal-breakers. I rarely go back and continue exploring after rolling credits on a game, but the game keeps on giving even after taking down the final boss. I simply can’t get over how much fun this title is. Even if the screenshots above stress you out just to look at them, don’t let yourself be intimidated. The is one of the most charming games I’ve played this year, and that’s something I never thought I’d be saying about a twin-stick shooter.
To hear me talk more about Minishoot Adventures, be sure to listen to the April 10th episode of The Gaming Outsider Podcast.
This review is based on a Steam copy of Minishoot’ Adventures provided by Jesus Fabre for coverage purposes. As of this writing, it is exclusive to that platform.
Minishoot Adventures
$14.99
Pros
- Crisp, Responsive Controls
- Nostalgic Exploration/Discovery
- Beautifully-Paced Upgrades
- Perfectly Toned Soundtrack
- Lighting Effects a Nice Touch
Cons
- No Dungeon Map
- One-Hit Kills Are a Bummer
