You've seen these gimmicks in other games, so it's ultimately a familiar grammar involving water, gravity, light beams, and so forth. The charm comes from the execution and the funky artwork.
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is a great platformer / twin stick shooter hybrid game that I can safely recommend to anyone who has a fine appreciation for great artistic design and competent gameplay design.
And while some nagging design annoyances and control issues permeate the game, its incredible, whacked-out art style does a lot to carry the experience.
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet offers some fun puzzles and way too easy bosses. Its unique art style definitely makes it worth playing but the familiar gameplay, as seen in dozens of older games, disable the game from being something truly special.
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is a puzzle-arcade game with some shooting elements and as such is a job well done. It satisfies but does not enchant. It seems that the game would be better if the developers focused more either on the puzzle side or on the shooting side. The game's strongest moments are its looks and boss fights but you need to remember that a trip to this interesting world won't last longer than one afternoon.
The fusing of puzzles, Metroidvania and a the film noir aesthics create a very alien, yet familiar world to travel in. It becomes a bit boring in places, but overall the journey is a fascinating one.