The game starts off very enjoyable and fun. But then it quickly devolves into "guess where the level designer wanted you to go next." And that becomes frustrating very quickly. To quickly get blocked with no idea where to go next is not my idea of having fun.

Great setup, great leveling mechanics, and so forth.

It would be better if the map progressed in a more methodical way such that you're not traveling all over the place trying to figure out where the two-man team decided to hide unlocking the maps with power-ups. What made Super Metroid so legendary is you "built" the map as you explored it, you could use the X-Ray Visor to search for missed hidden areas/items, and it generally progressed in a linear way so you didn't get lost so much. This game does not accomplish any of those things that make this more procedurally exploratory.

For example: you can get "locked" in the forest unless you found the boost in the Northeast of the map before going to the forest. I had to consult a video guide to know why I was stuck in the forest. That's frustrating. I don't want to pause a game to look up guides.

Suggestion: make a second game because you have something golden as a foundation. Keep the mechanics and leveling system the same, but make the map progress more procedurally such as unlocking stuff from left to right on the map with some occasional non-essential unlocks items/power-ups that you can back track to later on in the game. Meaning, players cannot proceed "to the right" unless they find the essential power in the area that unlocks more content. Such as boosts, water hover, and so forth.

Huge Swords and Souls fan. I would have purchased this game no matter what. So you have my money for whatever Minishoot 2 game you release in the future. Love you guys. Don't take my criticisms too harshly. I still genuinely view this game as foundationally excellent - it just needs level design improvements.

2024 was so stacked with killer releases that, unfortunately, some great titles were inevitably overshadowed and didn't quite get the attention they deserved. Minishoot' Adventures is one of those games - Despite it's very well-deserved Overwhelmingly Positive rating here, I don't remember hearing a lot of chatter around this last year, and that is a shame because this game absolutely rules.

Minishoot' is essentially a top-down Zelda title - complete with all of the dungeons, metroidvania-esque abilities and map design, upgrades and secrets you'd expect - but it takes the form of a twin-stick shooter.

On Advanced difficulty, there were some sections and bosses that were genuinely challenging and occasionally it dips its toes into bullet hell territory - If you've played any of the heavyweights in the shmup genre, you'll recognize some familiar bullet patterns. It all feels like a very natural fit and the game overall is extremely polished.

It clocked in at around 10 hours for the 100%, which felt like the perfect length to me. It didn't overstay it's welcome and wrapped up right around the time I was content that I'd had my fill of the gameplay loop.

Ever wonder what a topdown Zelda game would be like if you crossed it with a twin-stick shooter? I had not, but somehow Minishoot Adventures is exactly that.

You play as a small ship that explores a corrupted world in an attempt to find your friends and defeat the darkness. This all sounds pretty heady but Minishoot Adventures is a lighthearted romp that will take most players between 8 and 12 hours to complete. The game takes place in an overworld with dungeons that allow for additional upgrades and powers that unlock further aspects of the map. Your character levels up based off of currency dropped by enemies which you can use to spec your ship at any time, increasing your damage, fire rate, movement speed as well as many others. Of special note you can respec your ship at any time without any penalty which makes it lovely to transition your build from a gauntlet that requires more speed to an arena battle against fierce enemies and vice versa. There are numerous difficulty options, both in terms of enemy aggression and also if your ship automatically fires at enemies (or not).

While the difficulty options are appreciated, the overall presentation really is the standout in this game. While twin-stick shooters are infamous for many bullets and particle effects flying across the screen, the art direction is so straightforward that I never felt overwhelmed at any point in this game. The enemy designs are also simple and straightforward to the point that I had internalized every basic enemy attack pattern within the first half the game. The music is delightfully atmospheric, with a special standout being the forest area which I could listen to on loop for hours.

As mentioned before enemy designs and attack patterns are very straightforward and memorable. There is not a single time I died in this game that I did not deserve it. The bosses are also top notch, the third and true final bosses being masterclasses in boss design.

With all of this polish in term of visual design and gameplay, there are some things that I wish would be changed. There are several optional sections in this game where your character races small sprites, which is a fine way to mix up gameplay. However, there is not an option to quickly restart the race if you fail early on and know that you cannot make up the gap. While none of these races were incredibly difficult, I found the lack of the quick restart for the races (and in the post game arenas) to be a complete oversight.

That one tiny annoyance is not enough to throw the slightest bit of shade on what is a truly radiant game. I truly hope that the devs make some kind of follow up as this genre mash up is so unique and works so well that a follow up begs to exist.