Written by Patrick Orquia
Title: Rise and Shine
Developer: Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team
Publisher: Adult Swim Games
Genre: Twin Stick Shooter, Bullet Hell, Platformer, Shoot ‘em Up
Number of Players: 1 player
Release Date: September 27, 2018
Price: $14.99
Also Available On: Android, iOS, PS4, Steam, XB1
This game is published by Adult Swim Games and developed by the ambitiously-named Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team. It follows the adventures of a young kid named Rise in a post-apocalyptic dystopian world called Gamearth, full of murderous robots, aliens, and zombies. One day, he witnessed the death of a Legendary Warrior who died while rescuing him. Before he passed, the soldier bestowed upon Rise his sentient gun named Shine, and together, they have to save the world. Why the world gets invaded and destroyed is not readily provided to you, but as you progress in the game, you will understand more and more what is at stake and what you need to do.
The game is a 2D side-scrolling twin stick shooter. You play as Rise and the main goal is to reach the other end of the level while shooting your way against wave upon wave enemies that are either walking on the ground or flying/hovering in the air. You control the direction on the left analog stick and the right analog stick to aim. ZL readies Shine and ZR to shoot. You would have to stop after Shine runs out of bullets to shoot in order for you to reload, but it doesn’t take much time to do. But when you stop, your enemies don’t, so you will have be either stay on the move or get behind hiding spots so that the enemies won’t be able to hit you. These are all quite daunting to do in a 2D game but you’ll get used to it, maybe after a few deaths.
As you progress, you will acquire upgrades to Shine, such as the ability to shoot electrified projectiles, ability to throw grenades, additional bullet/grenade capacity, and also have the ability to shoot projectiles moving in slow motion. The last is one unique aspect of the game, as when you enter this mode, it become like its own mini-game, where you would have to direct your projectile past your enemies’, and this is no easy task because of the sheer number of them. You usually have to use your slo-mo projectile mode when you have to activate a switch from an unreachable spot for you to progress in the level. Some levels have boss battles at the end. These boss battles vary in design and are a highlight of the game, as you would have to use everything that you have learned so far in the game in some very imaginative ways in order to beat these bosses, which also vary in size and killing prowess.
The game is very vividly well-illustrated, utilizing traditional hand-painted aesthetics. From the detailed background environment to foreground characters, everything pops, whether on the TV or on the Switch screen. Along with this, the gameplay is top-notch and it keeps you on your toes to be always ready for any incoming enemy attack or landmine or any other obstacle that are there to annihilate you. Yes, despite the cartoony-y look, the game is very violent, but due to its art style, brutal death scenes look very over-the-top and are quite humorous. And you will see plenty of such scenes as this game is quite hard even on normal difficulty.
To complement the gruesome and violence in the visuals, the game has an excellent soundtrack and contains lots of references to old video games, like Mario, Duck Hunt, and many others, whether in NPCs or in the background. Rise getting decapitated and his blood splattering everywhere doesn’t look that dreary when surrounded by cuteness.
Overall, Rise and Shine, despite being another port, is a welcome addition to the ever-growing library of games on the Nintendo Switch. It seems that is tailor-made for the console, ideal for on-the-go, short gaming sessions, making the typical 2-3 hours of game length seem a bit longer. So if shooting games are your thing, go and grab this game and rise and shine to save the world.
REPLAY VALUE: High
PROS
CONS
To complement the gruesome and violence in the visuals, the game has an excellent soundtrack and contains lots of references to old video games, like Mario, Duck Hunt, and many others, whether in NPCs or in the background. Rise getting decapitated and his blood splattering everywhere doesn’t look that dreary when surrounded by cuteness.
Overall, Rise and Shine, despite being another port, is a welcome addition to the ever-growing library of games on the Nintendo Switch. It seems that is tailor-made for the console, ideal for on-the-go, short gaming sessions, making the typical 2-3 hours of game length seem a bit longer. So if shooting games are your thing, go and grab this game and rise and shine to save the world.
REPLAY VALUE: High
PROS
- Amazing hand-drawn visuals that are vivid and pop on the screen at every turn
- Exhilarating gameplay that keeps you on your toes
- Very good soundtrack to complement the visuals
- Lots of callbacks and references to other video games
- Has an over-the-top level of cartoon-y violence, but still quite humorous
- Awesome boss battles
- Past game levels can be re-played
- Cut scenes are presented in a comic book style that match the overall feel of the game
- HD Rumble is utilized effectively
CONS
- Very short: the game can be completed in about 2 hours, 3 if you’re not that good with shooting games
- Quite pricey at $14.99
- No voice acting
- Some frame drops are encountered throughout the game, especially at times when there are lots of stuff happening on screen
- I encountered at least one game crash, and because the game doesn’t allow players to save mid-game, all of my progress disappeared for that particular level
RATING: 4/5 blood splatters and rolling heads
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