During my time at E3, I got to play a little of WayForward’s Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, and the game looks simply incredible. The brief demo I played takes place in Scuttle Town which is under siege from Risky Boots and her minions, the Tinkerbats. As usual, I had to make use of my hair whip and fireball attacks to fight them off while platforming my way towards the port, where Risky Boots herself awaited me in her ship, placed on top of a giant snail like creature. One clever boss fight later, and Risky Boots was easily defeated.
I have only positive things to say about Half-Genie Hero. The multi-layered backgrounds are incredibly detailed, the animations are very fluid, and the controls were tight. You could even make use of Shantae’s animal transformations, like the monkey, to make traversing the stage easier in addition to obtaining hard to reach items. If the rest of Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is as fun as this taste of its gameplay, then I think it’s safe to bet that WayForward will have another hit on its hands.
