Shooty Skies

About

"Shooty Skies" is an endless-arcade shooter game where players dodge bullets, shoot enemies, and defeat bosses while collecting over 200 pilots across 20 terrains. The intensity can be adjusted from a casual to a challenging experience, and players can earn achievements and complete daily missions. With various weapons and power-ups, players must survive as long as they can in the skies.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 491 reviews

gameplay11 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

Fun and addictive gameplay with a colorful aesthetic and a variety of characters to unlock.
Great for short play sessions, making it a perfect time-waster when you're bored.
Smooth controls and enjoyable mechanics, especially with a controller, enhancing the overall experience.

Heavy reliance on microtransactions and temporary power-ups can detract from the gameplay experience.
The game feels like a mobile port, lacking depth and complexity compared to other PC titles.
Some gameplay mechanics, like distinguishing between projectiles, can lead to frustrating deaths.

gameplay
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
69%
7%
The gameplay is characterized as a fast-paced bullet-hell/shoot-em-up experience, featuring a variety of enemies and a unique mechanic that allows players to charge their attacks for more powerful strikes. While many players appreciate the engaging and addictive nature of the gameplay, some express concerns about glitches, a grindy loop, and the impact of microtransactions. Overall, the game is praised for its solid mechanics, vibrant visuals, and enjoyable soundtrack, making it a recommended choice for fans of the genre.
- “A great game if you honestly enjoy arcade shoot 'em ups. I recommend it for its great soundtrack, well-styled and balanced gameplay, and that classic urge to collect everything.”
- “The gameplay can be quite fast-paced, but I appreciate that; it's a tricky challenge that requires vigilant attention, and the additions of a permanent upgrade system and daily quests make this game so much more captivating than I remember it being when I played it on mobile.”
- “The gameplay is excellent; it's engaging and very addicting.”
- “The gameplay mechanics seem an afterthought.”
- “Very solid game with great sound and visuals, but ruined by a terrible grindy gameplay loop that encourages the player to delve into microtransactions.”
- “One of this game's flaws is the lack of music during gameplay with the default character; however, the menu music is pretty good.”
graphics
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
43%
8%
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their appealing aesthetics, with many reviewers highlighting the immersive and detailed visuals that enhance the gameplay experience. The art style, often compared to voxel and 2.5D designs, is described as charming and engaging, contributing to the overall enjoyment of the game. While some mention limitations in graphics options, the smooth performance and vibrant colors are consistently noted as standout features.
- “In addition, Shooty Skies really draws you in and inserts you into the action of World War II with the realistic enemies and incredibly detailed graphics that look almost real and make the experience extra-immersive.”
- “Playing it feels really uplifting due to the very colorful graphics and the cheerful soundscape.”
- “A neat little Raiden-style game with fun graphics.”
- “The sound is generic at best and not often that, with nothing special in terms of music and what seemed like stock sound effects that often clashed discordantly with each other and the visuals in the game.”
- “The graphics are decent.”
- “While graphics options are limited, the game runs at a butter smooth 60 fps on my AMD Radeon R9 200.”
monetization
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
64%
14%
The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting the prevalence of microtransactions, which range from cosmetic options to those that can alleviate grind. While some appreciate that these purchases are optional and do not hinder gameplay, others find the pressure to spend excessive and off-putting, particularly given the game's mobile origins. Overall, the lack of ads and the solid core gameplay are positives, but the monetization strategy remains a contentious point among players.
- “A really fun shmup; the microtransactions are cosmetic only, which is fine. It is a fun game to play between sessions of 'real games'—an easy game to learn, hard to master.”
- “There are in-game purchases if you want, but nothing is required to play.”
- “Yeah, it's a mobile port with microtransactions, but they're all purely cosmetic and the core gameplay is solid.”
- “However, it has way too much in-app purchases that are needed to really do some damage.”
- “You can definitely tell this was ported from an app, as it is rife with gimmicks and pressure to buy things via microtransactions, which, while optional, seemed too pervasive and is a major turnoff for me.”
- “Very solid game with great sound and visuals, but ruined by a terrible grindy gameplay loop that encourages the player to delve into microtransactions.”
story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
65%
15%
The game's story is noted for its thrilling action and engaging plot development, despite the absence of immersive dialogue, which some players find refreshing. However, the focus on daily missions and achievements can detract from the overall narrative experience, as players often feel overwhelmed by the grind for rewards rather than being drawn into the story itself. Overall, while the gameplay is captivating, the story may feel secondary to the mission-based structure.
- “The tense action, thrilling storyline, and nerve-rattling jumpscares will provide hours of fun.”
- “The story and plot development is simply amazing and the complete and utter lack of any immersive dialogue whatsoever gives this game its own fresh feel to it.”
- “The gameplay can be quite fast-paced, but I appreciate that; it's a tricky challenge that requires vigilant attention, and the additions of a permanent upgrade system and daily quests make this game so much more captivating than I remember it being when I played it on mobile.”
- “☑ no story”
- “It took me hours to grind coins and purchase missions to get just 100 golden tickets per completion (+50 extra on shooty difficulty and +100 on screamy) or 100 golden tickets for each in-game achievement, regardless of the much harder accomplishments being the same minor reward, just to allow access to all the weapons and-”
- “- how ridiculous it is for certain mission-related achievements to be near impossible without yearly dedication!”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
50%
19%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising the catchy soundtrack and enjoyable themes, while others criticize the lack of music during gameplay and the use of generic sound effects. Many users express a desire for a more complete soundtrack, as several tracks are only presented as samples. Overall, while the visuals and gameplay are well-received, the music aspect could benefit from improvements and additional content.
- “The creativity of the enemy and character designs are fantastic as well and the soundtrack.”
- “A great game if you honestly enjoy arcade shoot 'em ups, I recommend it for its great soundtrack, well-styled and balanced gameplay, and that classic urge of Crossy Road to collect everything.”
- “Great fun, looks good, sound effects and music are great, I have the catchy shooty skies theme tune stuck in my head, plays very well & there are so many different characters to unlock or purchase.”
- “The sound is generic at best and not often that, with nothing special in terms of music and what seemed like stock sound effects that often clashed dischordantly with each other and the visuals in the game.”
- “One of this game's flaws is the lack of music during gameplay with the default character; however, the menu music is pretty good.”
- “Terrible music.”
grinding
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
9%
73%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive, often requiring significant time investment to unlock characters and items, especially through the gacha system. Many reviews highlight that without spending real money, players face a tedious grind to earn necessary resources, leading to frustration and a repetitive gameplay loop. While the game offers engaging visuals and mechanics, the heavy reliance on grinding detracts from the overall experience.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “A bit grindy sometimes.”
- “Getting characters can be incredibly difficult without grinding due to the 'no duplicates' version of the gacha machine costing 5000 coins to use, and the duplicate-based version costing 500.”
- “If you don't want to pay, you have to do a lot, and I mean a lot of grinding.”
- “Very solid game with great sound and visuals, but ruined by a terrible grindy gameplay loop that encourages the player to delve into microtransactions.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as cute and enjoyable, with funny visuals and sounds that enhance the experience. Players appreciate the comedic elements, particularly in the gameplay mechanics and character unlocks, making it a fun and engaging experience overall.
- “But some of them are funny and enjoyable.”
- “Otherwise, it's a funny cat shoot 'em up game.”
- “I like the fact that you can kill whatever is in your sight, and the unlockable characters are pretty funny. It's a nice game.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while many players appreciate its well-made design and lack of major glitches or crashes, some report issues such as freezing on the loading screen and buggy hitboxes during missions.
- “This game is well made, with no glitches or crashes, making it a stable experience for players.”
- “I appreciate the stability of the game; it runs smoothly and allows me to focus on improving my high score without interruptions.”
- “The game offers a stable platform with fun characters, ensuring an enjoyable experience without technical issues.”
- “It freezes on the loading screen...”
- “The collecting missions have the dumbest hitboxes and visual glitches.”
- “Missiles are buggy.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is generally praised for its smooth performance even on lower-end computers, with clear hitboxes and engaging daily tasks. However, some users note that it utilizes an unoptimized Unity engine, which may affect performance on certain systems. Overall, it is well-suited for portrait screen orientation, making it accessible for mobile devices.
- “400 total pilots to earn (some of which have funny visuals or sounds), great weapons grinding and performance, clear hitboxes, dailies to keep you engaged.”
- “This game needs more attention; it's simple but really fun. Even if you have a low-end computer, it shouldn't be that laggy. I have a low-end computer and it runs smoothly.”
- “It's clear that this game's unoptimized Unity engine doesn't showcase its poor optimization.”
- “This is optimized for portrait screen orientation, like smartphones.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers praise the character development for its fantastic and creative designs, particularly highlighting the voxel-style aesthetics. The unique enemy and character designs contribute significantly to the overall appeal of the game.
- “The creativity of the enemy and character designs is fantastic, as well as the soundtrack.”
- “Fascinating voxel-style character design.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere of Shooty Skies is praised for its vibrant graphics and engaging arcade feel, drawing comparisons to the aesthetics of Crossy Road. Players appreciate the game's lively and immersive environment, which enhances the overall shooting experience.
- “Shooty Skies is a shooting arcade game with a great atmosphere and graphics.”
- “I've played Crossy Road, and this one doesn't stray far from it in terms of atmosphere and aesthetics.”