Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a side scroller action platformer in which you take control of Shantae and go from level to level defeating bosses and quests assigned to her via the story mode.
General Gameplay
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is an action/platformer to its game core play. As Shantae: Half-Genie Hero you use your hair to defeat enemies, as well other power ups that you obtain through the story mode. As you get new abilities, and powers, the game will encourage you to go back to different levels again to explore them to get new power ups or even fetch items for non-playable characters in the game. The Game Visuals for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero are visually stunning. As the game looks like an animated cartoon the graphics are very sharp on the screen. Everything from the main character Shantae, to non-playable characters to enemies, even background is very bright and vibrant on the screen. The game does not support a colorblind mode, but it is not needed for the game as the colors are very bright for the game. As the game is rated T – For Teen Shantae: Half-Genie Hero does show a little more skin for the female characters in the game graphics. So, this may not be for younger gamers and recommended for gamers ages 13 and up. Audio in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is really done well. The game background music is very upbeat and matches the game play levels, as well sound effects, enemy banter also in game audio for the main character Shantae. Some cut scenes do contain some audio dialog but nothing offensive to gamers. The game is presented in 5.1 surround sound and sounds great when playing the game. If anything, the game sounds great in a 2.0 stereo sound setting as well so for those gamers that use a gaming headset, they too will enjoy the games audio. In our playtesting, we did not encounter any type of language or anything offensive in the game audio. Shantae: Half-Genie Hero audio can be described as very upbeat and the moments of the game audio dialogue is spoken is to just express some type of emotional expression. The Controls in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero are well designed for any gamer to jump in and play the game. There is a jump button, as well attack, use a power up, and other face buttons on the controller that will have a use once you get deeper into the game. As the game is an action/platformer to its design, the controller setting is very user friendly and, in our playtesting, we did not have any issues with any gamers, action/platformers or not getting into the game. As the game does not need a special controller, you can use the default controller that comes with your console.
“Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a great action/platformer game in which any fan of these types of games will love. A must have game for any fan of platformers.”
Family Friendly
When this came across the desk during the holiday break, we thought to ourselves that this was just “another platformer” in an overcrowded category, well I am glad that we were wrong about this. Shantae has a unique charm about itself as a platformer as it stands out with the visuals and level design itself alone. Now I will admit that the animation and drawings of certain characters and bosses may be a little too much for younger gamers, but do not allow this to stop you from playing this game. Shantae: Half-Genie Hero does a great job of keeping all the action on the game fresh, and even levels that can be frustrating for certain gamers do not overstay their welcome. Another great thing is that Shantae: Half-Genie Hero encourages gamers to go back to previous levels to discover new power ups, and secrets in the level. This gives the game a lot of replay value and does not make the action of replaying a level feel like a chore or even being dull. The game is not short and for older gamers out there from the Sega Genesis days, the game has a feel of the original Sonic games from the 90’s in its level design, music and even humor. This is a great game for any platformer gamers as there is a lot to do. Again, this is a T rated game so we would not recommend the game for any gamers under the age of 13. If you are on the fence about this game, we highly recommend downloading a demo, or for those that are on the Xbox One, play it through the Game Pass and see for yourself. In our special needs game testing, we did not encounter any issues with the game graphics (outside of what we already covered) sound or even controls. The game was very fun to play for our special needs gamers and they had a great time playing Shantae: Half-Genie Hero.
Closing
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a fun, action/platformer that is great for any fan of this type of game in your gaming family. With different power ups, levels and humor, this is a must have game for your digital library.
