Shantae: Half-Genie Hero

You could likely beat Shantae: Half-Genie Hero in a couple of sittings, but the platforming action is so varied, and the levels so explorable, it’s worth playing well beyond that. While it's neither innovative nor high-concept, its hand-drawn look and toe-tapping music successfully channel a joy and enthusiasm that has become far too rare in modern video games.

Shantae’s back with old-school charm and a shiny new coat of paint.

Half-Genie Hero is a smooth platformer with a great sense of humor that recalls old-school platforming challenges

There's a lot to like here, and I hope WayForward gets to keep making Shantae games. As long as they do, I'll keep playing them.

All told, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a very solid Metroidvania-esque platformer that caters to fans old and new. Everything that is loved about this series remains, while a brand new art style and a simple story put the barrier to entry very low. There's a lot of backtracking, and we found the combat to be a bit shallow, but the gameplay is largely very good, and you'll constantly be switching forms as you explore and hunt down everything the game has to offer. It's wonderfully light-hearted and doesn't take itself seriously, which is sadly quite rare these days. If you're after a tightly designed platformer with memorable characters and varied gameplay, Half-Genie Hero is here to grant that wish.

This is the most polished Shantae game yet, and we can't wait to see where the Half-Genie Hero goes from here.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is fun. The platform game developed by WayForward is a true blast to play, thanks to a beautiful presentation, great writing and an excellent, varied gameplay experience that never feels stale, with plenty of optional content that makes everything even better. Topping some of the previous entries in the series was very hard, but WayForward managed to achieve it with Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, releasing one of the best platform games of the year, if not the very best.

Considering the efforts passionate fans went through to see this franchise have another entry, it comes off as surprising and unfortunate that Wayforward did not decide to take more risks by adding new characters and mechanics.

Say that I loved the game and with this edition you have at least 15 hours of fun for lovers of collectibles, in addition to the art book and the BSO that it brings, which is why I recommend it to lovers of old school platforms.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition is an amazing game with unique art style, Beautiful level design, nice music and various boss fights. Gameplay is the game's strongest element and is fun, challenging, diverse and exciting. Various modes, each one of them different from the other, is why this game can be played multiple times and not be boring. Of course thre are problems like not so good story-telling and difficulty unballance in some parts of the game, but in the end, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition is a very good choice for long time fans of Shantae series and for every gamers that are looking for a valuable platforming game with some good challenges and beautiful art style.