Shantae and the Pirates Curse
A bit too much lamp-rubbing in this one
Why
- Bright & colorful vibe is a nice contrast to many metroidvanias
- Has a lot of personality, even if not familiar with the (apparently established) characters
- Mostly chill & breezy gameplay...
Why Not
- ...but towards the end RNG takes a bit too much of a role
- Progression gates can be a little adventure-gamey at times
- The biome where every female character ends up in a Slave Leia costume wasn't strictly necessary
Impressions
I may not have finished it, but the 70%ish I did play of Shantae and the Pirates Curse definitely had its moments. The gameplay is refreshingly straightforward after Silksong and MIO; just whip nasties with your hair till they die. No charms, augments or levels, just some collectibles for max health and a main currency for attack speed/damage upgrades. If not for the absolutely ridiculous difficulty/RNG spike of the Dagron (sic) boss I would've happily finished it and probably given a glowing review.
Unfortunately Dagron does exist, and in typical Shantae fashion he has a gimmick. In this case it's charging into the blocks at the sides of the room to knock platforms from the ceiling for you to jump off and hit him as he flies by. Pretty simple concept, but unfortunately he's very enthusiastic about destroying the platforms, which is also likely to hit you if you're on them trying to whack him. After a few frustrating attempts which resulted in one (1) single successful stun I decided I'd rather be playing something else and moved on.
Having said all that, this is still a recommendation overall because I really enjoyed the game up to that point. Quirky characters, colorful biomes and chill gameplay make it a good time without stress up until Dagron, and even he can probably be cheesed if you're determined to experience the rest of the game. Overall a pretty nice experience, maybe someday I'll pick up another game in the series and give it a try.