Review: Mr. Shifty

Goutham Jayaraman

Ravencrow Game Review #15

 

Mr. Shifty

https://store.steampowered.com/app/489140/Mr_Shifty/

Genre	Twin Stick, Action
Platform	PC
Developer	TeamShifty
Publisher	tinyBuild
Playtime	5.4 hours
Date Completed	9/4/2021
Date Reviewed	21/5/2021
Overall Grade	A

 

Mr. Shifty is a fast-paced twin-stick punching/shooting game where you play as Mr. Shifty, a special agent with superhuman time manipulation skills.

The plot of the story revolves around a powerful plutonium ore being stolen by an evildoer called Chairman Stone and hidden within the confines of the huge Olympus Tower.

With nothing but his fists, shifting skills and miscellaneous items he finds lying around the place or loots from the dead corpses of his enemies, Mr. Shifty must brave the perils of the Olympus Tower along with his talented operator Nyx and reclaim the plutonium.

The game plays very similarly to the more popular Hotline Miami series with you having rooms to navigate around and enemies to dispose of. You generally also die in one hit, although many enemies require 2 or even 3 hits, especially as you progress through the game.

Your main mode of offence would be your fists. You can also pick up any random weapon lying around to swing and always guarantee a OHKO on any enemy. You can also pick up throwable objects and hurl them at enemies, also guaranteeing a OHKO. Staying true to his namesake, Mr. Shifty has the bizarre ability to teleport a short distance, helping him evade an enemy attack, gain the upper hand in combat and also pass through walls and other dangerous objects like lasers. Just about the only thing you can’t do is pick up guns and fire them, which I always found to be strange.

I did enjoy playing through the game, and found it somewhat more manageable then Hotline Miami. This was due mainly to the levels being split up into many rooms and the game saving everytime I entered a new room. I definitely liked using the shifting ability. It made me feel almighty, at least whenever I didn’t end up dying.

What I liked

-          The fast-paced combat gameplay, which I found to be fun and at times even thrilling

-          Using the shift ability

-          Certain weapons were amazing to toss around

-          The game having mercy by saving frequently

-          How there were usually different ways to approach situations

-          The fact that the game didn’t overstay its welcome

What I disliked                                                                   

-          There were still many moments of frustration, especially when fighting against seemingly hopeless odds.

-          Sometimes things came down to chance, which compounded to the frustration

-          Being unable to pick up guns

-          Overpowered enemies

-          Dangers popping in out of nowhere

Gameplay 17/20	+ Fun intense combat + Fluid controls + Sense of power from using shifting mechanic + Using items that either increase attack power or allow for ranged attacks also gives sense of power + Immense satisfaction upon clearing a level = Very tiring gameplay - Sizable amount of frustration in dealing with unfair scenarios
Game Design 14/20	+ Good level design with a wide variety of layouts and situations + Shifting mechanic further allows for creative level design + Decent number of enemy types, each posing a different threat + Levels are split up into multiple rooms and getting killed means only repeating that particular room. = Having a slowdown power was a good addition, but would have been nice to let the player choose when to use it - Disability to pick up guns despite there being no reason why. The game allows ranged weapons after all - Uneven difficulty and level pacing. Level 5 is suddenly 30 minutes long and Levels 6-9 have a sudden difficulty spike - Enemies appearing out of nowhere did make the game feel unfair at times because you can’t plan for them. (These types of games seem to be all about planning an optimal assault, but then it’s suddenly thrown out the window) - Some enemies felt overpowered, especially the ones with explosive weapons. - Enemies can fire at you from off screen
Graphics 20/20	+ Game world appears shiny, modern and flashy when needed. Definitely feels like an office building tower. + Eye catching special effects + Good character portraits, models and animations + Destructible world
Audio 14/20	- Limited sound track + Music accurately conveys the feel of the situation, becoming more tense when danger is afoot + Music is pumping and suits the action-packed nature of the game - Lack of voice acting, making player have to read whilst combating
Story 3/5	+ Interesting conversations with Nyx and Chairman Stone - But story is very basic
Lore 3/5	+ Nyx, Stone and even Shifty are well designed characters with distinct personalities. - Would have been nice to know the backstories of the characters involved
Value 13/20	- Short playtime, especially when compared to price + Replayability value is high enough considering that you can retry levels to better your time and minimize death = Fairly unique gameplay experience with the shifting mechanic, but stands out about as much as Hotline Miami does either way
Overall Grade 15/20	A
Score	76

 

Mr. Shifty is a fun game that is worth picking up, though preferably in a sale. While it does have many similarities to Hotline Miami, its shift mechanic and creative level design still give it a fair amount of novelty.

It definitely has tried to reduce the significant frustration you’d expect to experience with Hotline Miami, but falls a bit short of that goal with some unfair and uneven design. Then again, it might just be because I suck.