Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

*Puts on nostalgia pants*

Who remembers the days of old? When shooters were simple, scrolling data-masses that threw battalions of enemies at you in a choreographed flurry of 8-bit colour and doom? Where things like “story” were laughed off as superfluous and unnecessary; and “dynamic gameplay” meant weapon upgrades and the occasional huge-ass enemy boss coming at you every now and then?

Anyone? Nope, me neither.

Us new hip kids, who are down with trendy lingo and are totally fly (fly is still a thing, right?) live in an age of gaming where clearly-defined genre labels are starting to become a bit of a rarity in the games we play.

You’d be forgiven for taking one look at Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (hereafter referred to as ITSP) and thinking “SHMUP” – but you’d be way off. While ITSP is part-SHMUP, it’s more prominently part-explorer and part-puzzler and part-oh-my-God-please-stop-killing-me-you-evil-world. In fact, a large chunk of time in this game is spent exploring the expansive world indie devs, Shadow Planet Productions, have created – and figuring out the puzzles blocking your way forward.

Having said that, though, the shooter aspect of ITSP is still very much present – but it never feels like you’re facing an onslaught because there’s been a lull in the action; everything that happens feels like it’s egging you on and pushing you forward to solving the overall, greater puzzle of the world itself.

Where old-school nostalgia does creep in a bit, is the way the game unfolds and presents itself. ITSP doesn’t bother laying out a complicated story for you – and everything you are told, is done so visually. You’re an alien. An evil spore has infected your planet’s sun, as well as your home planet. Go do something about it.

Every time you encounter a new tool or new device to attach to your spaceship, you encounter it in such a way that the surrounding environment and activities explain or at least give you an idea of its function. All of these gizmos serve a specific duty needed to solve puzzles or destroy obstacles in your way. Quite handily, your starting tool – the scanner – can be used on many of said obstacles, subsequently giving you a hint as to what tool you need, and what you need to do with it.

This is where my first real complaint comes in; this process of trying to decipher the visual script of the game can be a bit vague – you’re privy to what tool you’re supposed to use to progress, but it’s not always immediately clear as to what you’re supposed to be doing with it. You’ll figure it out eventually, but it does feel like a sudden, unwanted interjection in pace.

The controls also take a while to get used to – and some aspects, at least for me, never feel fully intuitive; more specifically the tool control. Flying around is controlled with the left analogue stick, and the direction your tools face is controlled with the right. While exploring and figuring out puzzles at your own pace, this is fine, but when you need to think quickly and act even quicker to get through a wave of enemies, the frenzy can get confusing and you might end up flying straight into them, with your weapon trying, comically, to fly away in the opposite direction.

Some sections require precise control – where you have to avoid the world itself, in narrow areas – and suddenly navigating through these passages feels like you’re a Parkinson’s sufferer trying to stop the metal hoop from touching the wire and setting off the alarm on the nerdy kid’s science fair project. Okay, perhaps a bit hyperbolic – the controls aren’t impossible, but they do feel slightly loose and unrefined.

Aesthetically and aurally, the game is amazing and definitely a highlight. The visual design is uncomplicated, clean and alive, creating a vectorized world that feels like it’s a living, breathing entity. Silhouetted elements are reminiscent of Limbo, and also carry that concealed threat of imminent doom – especially if it looks like what seems to be part of the scenery, might actually be alive and waiting to eat you up. It usually is.

The audio complements this visual-vibe completely by sounding positively alien. Things ‘bloo-bleep’ as you navigate the menus, and the spaceship whirs as it flies around this strange world. In the background, a gloomy, sci-fi ambiance plays as an undercurrent reminder that this is a strange, hostile place. As soon as the enemies start charging at you, industrial beats (that would not be out of place in Silent Hill, I might add) blare at you, letting you know that poop is about to go down.

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet isn’t a trip down memory lane. It’s a game that borrows a lot from the past, but takes only what it needs and uses it to create something entirely new. Not without fault, and a bit short – taking me about 6 hours to complete – but it’s presented so well, you can overlook the minor niggles and appreciate the greater joy.

You can get Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet on Xbox LIVE for 1200 Microsoft Points.