Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet Review

**Spillanya** · August 1st, 2011

Allow me to start by simply saying that this game makes me all sorts of happy.

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is one of the handful of fantastic games being released for Xbox LIVE's Summer of Arcade 2011 series, and was developed by Shadow Planet Productions, a partnership between companies Fuelcell Games and Gagne International. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet itself is a side-scrolling adventure/exploration game that fuses addicting (yet relaxing) gameplay elements with breathtaking visuals based on the quirk-filled art of Michel Gagne, whose style can best be described as a cleaner, much more thematically appealing version of Jhonen Vasquez's work. Needless to say, the game is gorgeous.

I went into Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet with absolutely no expectations, having never heard of the game nor seeing any trailers or screenshots before actually playing it. The opening cutscene alone is worth your precious Microsoft points. It drew me in immediately, with its brilliant use of negative space and bright colors playing to a background of what sounded like a fully-orchestrated symphony. You'll have to forgive me -- I'm a film major, this stuff really gets me. Trust me, though, your jaw will drop. After the opening, the game truly begins and, unlike most games in this day and age, does so with little to no exposition and absolutely no dialogue -- a slightly more colorful and complicated Limbo. The concept of the game, however, like most other brilliant arcade games today, is quite simple: You're an alien being. Explore the Shadow Planet.

Exploration is a huge component in your adventure through the Shadow Planet's six elementally-themed sections and you're presented with an arsenal of tools and weapons (all of which you have to search for yourself) to aid you through each world's unique set of hostile terrain. Like Limbo, everything is out to get you and much of the time, you won't be able to tell what's friendly and what's not until its too late. Luckily, the Shadow Planet is littered with checkpoints that not only autosave your progress but also regenerate your health.

Aside from exploration, you'll spend much of your time backtracking, which is every gamer's nightmare in theory, but in Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, I was more than happy to oblige, partially because I simply enjoyed traversing through the winding passages of the game's aesthetically-pleasing map (did I mention this game looks fantastic?), and also because of all the new areas that slowly become unlocked as you discover new weapons and tools. The backtracking, of course, can get a little confusing at times. I was barely an hour in before having a "what-the-heck-do-I-do" moment. Luckily, it's so much fun to simply wander around that I eventually found myself right back on track.

The only issues I have with Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet can hardly be called "issues" at all. For one, the controls take a little time to get used to, especially if you're like me and are particularly challenged when it comes to hand-eye coordinations. Tap and hold RB to choose your weapon/tool, use the left stick to move your vessel, the right stick to aim, and the right trigger to shoot. Sure, it doesn't sound so difficult on paper, but it definitely gets tricky when switching between a simple cannon and a claw arm. Furthermore, the radial weapon selection screen is fairly nifty and you're given the ability to map four of your tools to A, B, X, and Y respectively. Only problem with that is there are nine weapons you'll want to be switching between throughout the game so it's a matter of deciding for yourself which ones you want easy access to. I pretty much kept the first four tools you find (scanner, cannon, claw arm, and shield) mapped and tapped RB to switch to the others -- a bit tricky in close encounter situations, but what can I say? I like overcomplicating things.

Once again, the controls are but a small blemish on an otherwise outstanding game and, let's be honest, better gamers would probably never think to worry about the controls. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is easily one of the best arcade games I've ever played -- it's relaxing but edge-of-your-seat exciting at the same time, and I really can't stress just how pretty the visuals are enough. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet will be released on the Xbox LIVE Arcade on August 3rd for a whopping 1200MSP, which seems a bit steep for a game that, in the end, is not very lengthy, but trust me, you won't regret spending your money.

Final Score:
9/10