Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet review: Twisting art into games

Few of the things that Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (ITSP for short) does as a game are original; the design embodies the Metroidvania stereotype. But when you play the game, even as you’re seeing all the tenants of that tried and true style – the squared map, the areas that are off limits until later, the inevitable upgrades to your arsenal – you are overwhelmed with novelty. While on one hand you can’t shake the feeling that this is an experience similar to that of games past, one absolute that takes hold early is that it’s an excellent game in its own right.

The main characteristic of ITSP that sets it apart is the art style and the game’s presentation. To put it simply, ITSP is a very, very beautiful game. I could likely spend the rest of the review just talking about the art and how wonderfully engaging and playful it is and I would still leave it underappreciated. The juxtaposition of the musical score with the art only enhances the experience. The game is broken up into clearly defined zones, each exhibiting its own style. The main elements are really the environments and the enemies and for each zone, with a unique approach taken to both for every area. In some cases they are one and the same, the environment being the enemy itself. Sometimes the relationship is covert, with polyps that emerge from what was just a desolate façade, but that are nevertheless bound to the walls of the planet. In other sections, the danger is mechanical: spinning saw blades and giant corkscrews looking to spear you. Over time, as you’ll realize, the whole planet is your enemy.

The introductuctory movie makes this pretty clear. A scourge has spread to your planet, infecting it with a living darkness. Like a good native, you take up arms to defend your home planet. After jumping into your personal flying saucer- style ship, you make way to the source of the plague. The tools at your disposal are initially limited: just a scanner, claw, and basic gun, but it won’t remain that way for long.

Power-ups are scattered throughout the map, marked on it as points of interest. Both your main gun and shields, unlike your other weapons, are beefed up throughout the game through the collection of items. Collecting the required amount of power-ups will increase the item to the next level. The rest of the items, with the exception of just one, are unlocked as the game naturally progresses, whether it is from defeating a boss or surmounting a particular puzzle. Collecting all of the gun and shield power-ups yielded a noticeable benefit, and when the map displayed a location of interest, I rarely hesitated to check it out as I was always met with a reward for investigating.

Such locations are fairly common throughout the map and as I explored the first area of the game, I encountered barriers that I was unable to open. Without fail I looked forward to returning to them and building up my arsenal in preparation for later battles. To my dismay, I later found that the map was a bit smaller than I had expected and was disappointed to find a lack of these locations to return to. There’s also an available ‘Lantern Run’ minigame meant for multiplayer where you and three of your buddies have to drag a lantern as far through a tunnel as possible. While it doesn’t bring the full atmosphere of the main game, it is a fun way to enjoy it with other people. At that point, though, I was just hoping for any excuse to play the game more.

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Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet was provided for review by Fuelcell Games and is available for 1200 MS Points ($15)

By Taylor Bliss at August 2, 2011.