Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut

88%
Game Brain Score Based on 724 reviews
  • music
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut Game Cover
Shantae Risky’s Revenge is a fun, challenging adventure. Filled with difficult boss battles, tons of tricky puzzles, and all kinds of magic spells to learn. While it may be a little outdated, Risky’s Revenge will always be fun to play.
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Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut is a steamified version of the critically acclaimed game, featuring HD portrait artwork, additional challenges, and extra content like illustrations, Steam Trading Cards, Achievements, and more. As half-genie Shantae, players explore a sprawling world, whip enemies with their hair, tackle big bosses, and uncover a thrilling adventure in this side-scrolling action game. The warp system has been reimagined for speed runners and returning players, making this a must-play for fans of the series and newcomers alike.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station Vita
  • Wii
  • Wii U
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

88%
Audience ScoreBased on 724 reviews
music117 positive mentions
grinding22 negative mentions
  • Charming characters and humorous dialogue that enhance the overall experience.
  • Beautiful pixel art and animations, creating a vibrant and colorful world.
  • Solid gameplay mechanics with responsive controls and enjoyable platforming.
  • Short playtime, typically around 4-6 hours, which may leave players wanting more.
  • Confusing map design that can lead to frustration and unnecessary backtracking.
  • Some combat mechanics feel unbalanced, with certain spells and transformations being underutilized.
  • music172 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its catchy melodies and vibrant compositions that enhance the overall experience. Composed by Jake Kaufman, the soundtrack is noted for its nostalgic charm, fitting well with the game's retro aesthetic and engaging gameplay. While some players found certain tracks repetitive or less memorable compared to previous titles, the majority agree that the music is a standout feature that adds significant enjoyment to the game.

    • “The soundtrack is phenomenal, arguably the best part of the game.”
    • “The music in these games is absolutely the highlight with super catchy melodies throughout.”
    • “The music is simply amazing, it has an eastern vibe and it's mostly upbeat.”
    • “The music is repetitive.”
    • “The music, while very well done, is missing something, and that something is the dance button music.”
    • “In terms of music it's alright but I've got nothing much to say about it.”
  • gameplay171 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is a blend of nostalgic platforming and metroidvania mechanics, featuring transformations that add variety to exploration and combat. While many players appreciate the charming visuals and solid mechanics, some criticize the controls and occasional clunkiness, noting that the game feels dated compared to its sequels. Overall, it offers enjoyable gameplay with a mix of fun challenges, though it may be shorter and less polished than more recent entries in the series.

    • “The gameplay is smooth and there's a variety of abilities you can use, as well as giving that classic metroidvania feel when you unlock new areas or explore.”
    • “Shantae: Risky's Revenge is a splendid platforming adventure with incredible visuals, music, and gameplay, and I think everyone should give it a shot.”
    • “An excellent game, great gameplay, graphics, music, characters, and story.”
    • “Shantae feels stiff to play as when whipping on the ground and when doing the dodge - a serious missed opportunity to have that be able to flow into a jump or special kind of counterattack - and her hair whip attack is so narrow it's not worth the bother of learning to aim it for when you have to jump and fight at the same time, and the items work on an unintuitive selection mechanic.”
    • “But still, the gameplay is nowhere as refined as the sequels, the combat is slow, the backtracking is tedious, and the platforming is a bit of a coin toss due to the zoomed-in camera.”
    • “The gameplay is your standard platformer: jump and attack.”
  • graphics158 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant and charming pixel art, which evokes nostalgia for classic 16-bit titles. Many reviewers highlight the detailed character sprites and backgrounds, as well as the smooth animations that enhance the overall aesthetic. However, some criticism arises regarding the game's resolution and scaling issues, particularly when played on modern displays, which can detract from the visual experience.

    • “The graphics are gorgeous, with incredibly detailed, colorful environments, superbly animated sprites, and great character design.”
    • “Its presentation is timeless, with colorful and expressive pixel graphics and a peppy soundtrack that perfectly suits its tone.”
    • “The pixel graphics are absolutely beautiful and cute, and the gameplay is tight and responsive.”
    • “There's something a little off-putting about the combination of high-resolution text and artwork drawn over a tiny pixel game, but between that and some annoying enemies, I don't have a lot of bad stuff to say about Shantae: Risky's Revenge.”
    • “From a graphical standpoint, it looks like a poorly upscaled DS game (which it is).”
    • “The dialogue box and menus really clash with the pixel art style.”
  • story145 mentions

    The story of "Shantae: Risky's Revenge" is generally viewed as simple and lighthearted, serving primarily as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. While some players appreciate the quirky characters and humorous dialogue, others find the plot lacking depth and engaging content, often feeling like a series of fetch quests. Overall, it is considered a decent setup for the sequel, "Pirate's Curse," with enough charm to entertain but not enough to stand out as a memorable story.

    • “The story is entertaining, though simple.”
    • “The story, while simple, is pretty good.”
    • “The characters are fun and quirky, the story is weird and loose, and the game as a whole is quite the pleasure to play!”
    • “The story isn't anything to write home about; it's lighthearted and simple with an interesting but shallow cast of characters.”
    • “The story is a bit hard to grasp if you haven't played the first Shantae game; for example, you'll have no idea why the main character is friends with a zombie.”
    • “The overall story was also a bit bland, but acceptable.”
  • humor74 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its charm and wit, featuring a sassy cast of characters and plenty of funny dialogue that often includes self-aware and tongue-in-cheek jokes. Players appreciate the lighthearted tone and amusing writing, which contribute to an enjoyable experience, although some find the humor to be hit-or-miss. Overall, the game's comedic elements enhance its appeal, making it a delightful choice for fans of quirky, humorous adventures.

    • “The game has very beautiful pixel art, nice music, and lots of funny dialogue.”
    • “Great platformer with great humor and great gameplay, although sometimes a bit frustrating.”
    • “The dialogue is really funny and charming, the writing is very self-aware and played for laughs.”
  • replayability34 mentions

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players finding it enjoyable due to features like "magic mode" and achievement hunting, which encourage multiple playthroughs. However, others note that the game is relatively short and lacks significant variety, making it less appealing for those not interested in completionism or speedrunning. Overall, while there are elements that enhance replay value, it may not be substantial for all players.

    • “Magic mode is unlocked after you beat the game, adding replayability, that gives Shantae a costume change and more magic but makes her take more damage as a result.”
    • “The magic mode, which is unlocked after completing the game once, adds a more difficult experience to add replayability, and there are plenty of secrets hidden in the game.”
    • “An ambitious platformer with great gameplay, a nice amount of replay value, and a charming heroine to play as.”
    • “Really easy, really empty, really short, not a lot of variety and no replayability.”
    • “Not much replayability though unless you want to find all secrets or beat the clock.”
    • “The replayability is mostly achievement based or for those who want to play with the magic mode unlocked after the game is already completed; the game pretends to have multiple endings, but it really just gives you a different post-credit art piece depending on the speed you completed the game and how many items you've collected.”
  • grinding22 mentions

    Grinding in the game is largely unnecessary for progression, as players can complete it without collecting all items, but the experience can become tedious due to clunky backtracking, poorly designed map warp points, and repetitive enemy encounters. While some players appreciate the exploration aspect and the lack of required grinding for items, the overall gameplay suffers from slow combat, cumbersome navigation, and frustrating level design, making the experience feel more tedious than enjoyable, especially in later stages.

    • “Things get clunky when later areas are long and stuffed with enemies as well as pitfalls that reset your progress in the room. You're pushed to backtrack through these areas constantly, the map warp system never quite puts you where you want to be but instead 1-2 long walks off, and things get tedious and repetitive fast.”
    • “But still, the gameplay is nowhere as refined as the sequels. The combat is slow, the backtracking is tedious, and the platforming is a bit of a coin toss due to the zoomed-in camera.”
    • “I also gotta admit the endgame backtracking was a bit tedious, because the warp points were placed in awkward spots. While going through enemies the first time around was fun, by the 9th time I just took the hits while trying to dodge as best as I could.”
  • character development17 mentions

    Character development in the game is generally viewed as limited, with the protagonist being a straightforward hero lacking significant growth. However, the quirky dialogue and unique character designs contribute to memorable interactions, enhancing the overall experience. While the story may not be particularly strong, the expressive character designs and animations are highlighted as standout features that add charm to the game.

    • “The dialogue is quirky and fun enough, and the character designs are very expressive.”
    • “They have some interesting wordplay and character development in the story that gives some of the characters their own unique personality as you go along with it.”
    • “A solid, short and sweet metroidvania with some pretty good character designs and pixel graphics; the story itself is meh but the character interactions and some of the writing makes up for it.”
    • “She doesn't get a lot of character development, and is basically just a straightforward hero protagonist.”
    • “It depends, this was the first modern Shantae game and it set the framework for all later releases, both art style and character development-wise.”
    • “+dialogue (probably the game's strength along with character design)”
  • atmosphere5 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is characterized by its colorful graphics, cheerful and cute art style, and distinct thematic areas that create an engaging environment. The music enhances this lively atmosphere, with remastered tracks from the original game adding to the overall experience. Players find the atmosphere to be a significant highlight, contributing to the game's fun and immersive quality.

    • “The controls are smooth and the different areas each have their own theme, which builds a nice atmosphere.”
    • “The game's strongest point is definitely its colorful graphics, cheerful and cute atmosphere, and the world feeling alive.”
    • “The songs sound great and add to the atmosphere of the game (just sit down for a while in Tangle Forest, you won't regret it), and many of the most famous tunes from the original Shantae were remastered for this game too (such as Burning Town and the boss theme).”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game's optimization has been criticized for frequent stuttering and frame drops, often dipping below 60fps, which detracts from the overall experience. Players have reported control issues linked to these performance problems, likening it to running on a poorly-tuned emulator. Despite its fantastic art design, the technical execution leaves much to be desired.

    • “The game optimization is surprisingly poor, frequently dipping below 60fps and experiencing some minor scaling issues.”
    • “Although there might be slight performance issues throughout the game, it generally recovers to a constant frame rate after brief drops and stutters.”
    • “The control issues are further compounded by frequent mild stuttering causing skipped inputs, which feels almost as if the game were running on a poorly-tuned emulator.”
    • “Although, throughout the game, there might be a slight performance issue where it feels like the frames drop and stutter a bit before recovering again to a constant rate.”
    • “Graphics: the art design is fantastic, but the game optimization is surprisingly poor, frequently dipping below 60fps and experiencing some minor scaling issues.”
  • stability3 mentions

    The stability of the game has raised concerns among users, with reports of bugs, misleading achievement descriptions, and frequent glitches leading to lost save files. Overall, players express disappointment in the quality of the port, fearing it may be unstable.

    • “I was a little worried that this was going to be a buggy, low-quality port.”
    • “Achievements are buggy and have misleading descriptions.”
    • “Broken, just made of glitches and save files disappear often.”
  • emotional3 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a lack of deep character connections, though it evokes nostalgia for simpler gaming experiences from childhood. Players appreciate the retro feel and visual style, which enhances the sentimental value of the game.

    • “Honestly, I would have loved this game as a kid, so playing this made me feel the nostalgia of a simpler time of playing video games in the afternoon on a classic console.”
    • “The game itself has probably had some retouching but appears to be largely the original sprites.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

75% average critic score

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Play time

5hMedian play time
5hAverage play time
5-6hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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