Shantae and the Seven Sirens Reviews
Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a cute game with funny dialogue and clever puzzles that are interspersed with great mini-games that draw you into the story world at every turn.
Overall if you like the recent Shantae games you will like Seven Sirens. Do not expect anything game changing from this game as it is more of a follow on continuation from the previous game in terms of style and substance.
Children might enjoy this thanks to the easy-to-pick-up-and-play responsive controls. The humor might not connect with them and the imagery might imprint some fetishes in their heads early on, but this is a decent entry level Metroidvania. Adults who might be curious stand a good chance at being extremely bored.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens is definitely a highlight for the series, building on the jump to HD from its predecessor while finally finding a way to match the traditional dance and transformation mechanics with the speed and ease of use from Pirate’s Curse.
Apart from those complaints--which are minor in the grand scheme of things--Seven Sirens is a wonderful game and might well be the equal of Pirate's Curse, which is no small feat. The game does feature several ending screens for completing the game in various ways and a second game mode that's akin to Risky's Revenge: Director's Cut instead of Half-Genie Hero. There's also a nice movie viewer if you want to sample the Studio Trigger cutscenes. Like I said, if you're itching for a good Metroidvania or just like Shantae games generally, Seven Sirens is a lock.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens is an acceptable entry in a series that is known for consistency. However, as the genre continues to evolve, it feels like the simple pleasures of the franchise are becoming less enjoyable. Whenever the titular heroine returns, hopefully she has some new tricks to unleash.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a welcome return of a now-classic platforming series.
All in all, Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a well-made and enjoyable addition to the franchise. The gameplay is stronger than ever, and it retains pretty much everything the series was known for, both good and bad. The only thing that makes it difficult to recommend is the low difficulty level, but if you don't mind an easy time, then it will do the job nicely. Wayforward has shown increasing confidence and capabilities with each passing Shantae game, and Seven Sirens gives me a lot of hope for its next one.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a delight.
Shantae gets a bit repetitive in her fifth game. It is still good, but it could (and should) be better.
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Shantae and the Seven Sirens is easily the best in the series and one of WayForward's most enjoyable video games to date.
None of this is to say Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a bad game. In fact, it's a decent game for the younger audience, newcomers, and anyone that isn't expecting Shantae to evolve. Strictly from the perspective of someone that has played many games in the series and is eager for something different, though, this disappoints on many fronts. Uninspiring and rarely ever surprising, with little to make the player feel like they've earned anything, what is left is a generic Shantae game that is like any other before it, crying out for change and originality.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a charming and whimsical Metroidvania adventure that suffers from a case of repetition. It is still highly enjoyable if you have loved the series so far but it is clear that the formula has to be freshened up for any potential sequel.
Even though Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is still the gold standard for the franchise, I enjoyed my time with Shantae and the Seven Sirens a great deal. Here's hoping the next adventure captures more of that classic half-genie magic.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens is an excellent return to form for the belly-dancing indie heroine. It’s a game that looked back to its previous iterations, took notes of what people liked the most about each one of them, and added everything to a blender together with some new gameplay features and quality of life improvements.
Seven Sirens still is an absolutely excellent metroidvania worth enjoying, but I can’t help but feel some things could have been done to make this the ultimate game to surpass Pirate’s Curse. It definitely sets things back on the right track after Half Genie Hero, but it doesn’t quite match the peak the franchise had already set. Regardless, this is a must-own if you felt that the last game wasn’t what you felt Shantae should be, and missed the old style of exploration from which the series started on.
In the end, Shantae and the Seven Sirens overcomes its issues with a variety of fantastic visuals, tight controls, and a new cast of characters that mesh perfectly with the old characters.
It took me a bit under eight hours to finish the game. Though an hour of that was wandering around as I assumed I couldn’t go somewhere I was meant to. I wish it was longer purely because I’d rather play more with my new abilities than start the game over. I will have to as I can’t get 100% on my first save file because late in the game a section gets locked off permanently. That and the intermittent voice acting are the only complaints I have about this game. An option to mark things on the map would have been nice but the world is small enough it’s not hard to remember things. It’s terribly hard to resist the siren call of this game. It’s been hard to finish this review because whenever I go to check something I just keep playing it. I had a really fun time with this game and I give it:
For as easy and positively safe of a bet Shantae and the Seven Sirens might be, it’s an gorgeously well put together platformer that’s a lot of fun to play that comes from a developer that’s become proficient at putting out heavily nostalgic and polished games.