[REVIEW] Float like a Butterfly: Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

So I must start this review with a quick confession - I haven't beaten the last boss yet (or what I think/hope is the last boss) yet and I'm almost at the point of tossing this game into the abyss of shame and never completing it. Yet I refrain from doing so as the game has the capacity to provide great feelings of triumph and satisfaction.

Read on past the jump to find why this game is so frustrating and at the same time so engaging...

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet starts with a bang, a big breathtaking animated cinematic that doesn't really explain much...but when it looks that pretty it just doesn't have to. Shortly thereafter it is revealed that you are a small UFO and a few on screen prompts direct you as to the basic controls and away you go.
One of my small complaints about this game, the tutorial element is a little lacking - new weapon abilities and even just understanding how to read the iconography could have done with a little more explaining, but true to the artistic nature of this game the HUD reveals very little by way of words and everything in images and icons all the way down to your health. There is no health meter, instead your hull begins to degrade and set on fire as you take more damage.

The art design in this game is amazing and incredibly varied, from beautiful arctic zones to dark and creepy electrical zones lit only by the occasional glow of a checkpoint and a zig-zagging background reminiscent of 'Tron' and future-punk mechanical clockwork sections - each have their own style and aesthetic and the transition between each is organic and seamless. You may find yourself dying occasionally simply due to the fact you are admiring the environment to the point of not realising you are under assault or that a particular architectural feature is actually a missile launcher.

Oh, and did I mention the game is 2D? Yep, its a 2D side-scroller and yet not a platformer - you ARE a UFO after all and as such you hover everywhere, up and down, left and right - no jumping puzzles here kids (thank goodness for that).

While on the topic of puzzles this game has no shortage of them and each is unique to its environment, the ice puzzles are significantly different to the clockwork or to the electrical ones. Occasionally you will reach gates that you cannot pass as you've not yet received the correct weapon/tool - it is important to scan these gates so as to mark them on your map so you can return later.

This discovery aspect of the game is important and one of the reasons that beside your campaign completion percentage it also lists map explored. This is also the reason I've not given up yet - I believe there are a few more shield and weapon upgrades available to my now fully loaded UFO that were previously inaccessible, hopefully that will be enough to defeat the last boss.
Far from being a pure puzzler the entire game is a truly terrific blend of arcade style action in the legacy of 'Asteroid' and Geometry Wars as well as mind bending puzzles requiring in some instances a reasonable amount of cerebrum to solve and in others a highly dexterous thumb.

I rate myself as an OK gamer, maybe a 6 or 7 - I'm not the most accurate person with a thumbstick but I generally get by, do alright and enjoy myself. There are some sections of this game that have pushed me to my very limits, and only through sheer determination and I think a good measure of luck have I triumphed, which while infuriatingly frustrating at the time provides a HUGE sense of achievement when you weave a speeding missile through an impossibly long tunnel or finally defeat a section boss who has mercilessly slaughtered you time and time again.

Having overcome so many frustrations, I truly wish to finish the game...but I fear that I may not be good enough - one thing that pushes me on is the desire to feel the rush of achievement, the thrill of yelling a proverbial 'Up Yours!' at my TV as I watch the boss fade from my screen and find if there was a story behind this game.

I came into this game review with pretty much no expectations, I knew nothing of it and certainly not that it was a 2D side scroller - but the game has captivated me for hours at a time and frustrated me for almost as long too. It's not without its flaws but this 'Winter of Arcade' title is certainly one that will provide you plenty of challenges, a couple of 'oh my goodness' moments when a new puzzle type appears and should take a good 6+ hours to complete.

If you are afraid of massive frustrations and are a bit wonky on your thumbstick I'd advise to stay clear, but if you fancy yourself more dexterous than a 6 or 7 and your preferred version of Halo is SWAT DMR - then I think you'll do just fine as you admire the breathtaking artwork and luscious attention to detail in the varied environments as it is fair to say this game straddles the border between game and art.

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