Apple Arcade review #64: Shantae and the Seven Sirens

This is a pretty basic platformer, featuring a bouncy teenaged half-genie, with ropey touch controls and bland art.

I understand that it’s difficult to make good platform games for a touchscreen. Some games resort to auto-running, leaving the player to focus on just jumping: Rayman does this incredibly well. Others choose virtual joysticks and buttons, something that, in my opinion, rarely works as well. Shantae is no exception: timing jumps is difficult, as is getting the half-genie to jump in the right direction. It’s a frustrating experience overall. I didn’t give the Apple TV version with the physical controller a try: the look and mood of the game was a big turn-off.

I guess it’s obvious that I didn’t like this game very much. There are much better platform games on Apple Arcade. Unless you find the setting and main character uniquely appealing, I don’t see a good reason to play Shantae and the Seven Sirens.

Link: https://apps.apple.com/no/app/shantae-and-the-seven-sirens/id1451660353