Shantae: Half-Genie Hero

 Switch
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Image
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 77 Ratings

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  • Summary: Shantae is roused from a deep sleep, suddenly alert. She plunges into the moonlit forest in search of answers. In nearby Scuttle Town she discovers a mysterious trapdoor, and beyond that, a luminous subterranean cavern. A familiar voice calls out, drawing Shantae to a beautiful fountain.Shantae is roused from a deep sleep, suddenly alert. She plunges into the moonlit forest in search of answers. In nearby Scuttle Town she discovers a mysterious trapdoor, and beyond that, a luminous subterranean cavern. A familiar voice calls out, drawing Shantae to a beautiful fountain. Touching its waters she is immediately spirited away to the fabled Genie Realm. At her feet a magical seal swells as some powerful evil seeks escape. The chamber trembles with a deep, bellowing roar and everything goes white. Shantae sits upright, back in her bed. Was it just a dream? Or a vision of things to come?… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. NintendoWorldReport
    Jun 28, 2017
    90
    Although the main game is short – there’s a prize for beating it in under four hours – there’s a speedrun mode and an even harder difficulty that both offer some interesting looking concept art. I did a slow run, getting everything I could that didn’t involve replaying stages for money, and want to go back and give the speedrun option a try down the road. The transformations are a blast to use, and there were a lot of “Wait a minute...” moments when I unlocked things like the crab claws and the bat form. Shantae also looks fantastic, and the music nails the atmosphere of the various stages.
  2. Nintendo Life
    Jun 16, 2017
    90
    All told, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero has never been better; the enhanced versatility of the Switch lends the game a new sort of appeal and convenience that wasn’t there before, and the first DLC expansion is due out this summer. This is a charming, colourful, and sometimes challenging Metroidvania that will no doubt prove to be a memorable addition to your collection.
  3. Gaming Age
    Aug 4, 2017
    83
    The positives in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero ultimately more than outweigh the negatives. Again, you'll probably like the game much more if you're going in as a Shantae fan to begin with, but this game is enjoyably pleasant enough that that's by no means a prerequisite.
  4. Cubed3
    Jun 19, 2017
    80
    Whilst it starts off somewhat slow, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero quickly kicks into top gear and stays there right until the end, making for one of the most engrossing 2D platform adventures of recent times. A few unnecessary special abilities may have been tacked on, but the balance for the essential ones is spot on. Also, it may suffer from being too easy on the standard difficulty setting, but there is a harder setting for veterans to tackle, as well as plenty of reasons to revisit the different levels included, with a Metroid-esque feel to proceedings at times.
  5. Pocket Gamer UK
    Sep 19, 2017
    80
    A bright, sharp 2D platformer that's brimming with diversions and exciting set pieces.
  6. Switch Player
    Jun 14, 2017
    70
    Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a beautiful, fun platformer that is a welcome addition to the Switch's library. A little on the short side, the game does suffer from being too easy in its "normal" game mode. Still, if 2D platformers are your thing, you can't go wrong with Half-Genie Hero, the titular belly-dancer will certainly have you tapping your feet to the beat - just make sure you play in Hard Core Mode if you like a challenge!
  7. FNintendo
    Aug 9, 2017
    70
    Shantae: Half-Genie Hero brings the series to the Nintendo Switch and it certainly is a fine specimen that makes use of its marvelous visuals and sound to bring a fun action platformer experience to Nintendo's new console. While some elements need a bit of polishing, such as the control precision in key moments and the overall level design, this is a game that opens good prospects for the Shantae series.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 4 out of 16
  1. Kierzyn
    Aug 10, 2017
    10
    Wonderful music, appealing levels, simple, enjoyable story, good gameplay, and fair amount of hidden treasures make this game a great choiceWonderful music, appealing levels, simple, enjoyable story, good gameplay, and fair amount of hidden treasures make this game a great choice not only for fans of platformers.… Expand
  2. Evan_Turchiano
    Feb 24, 2018
    10
    Shantae: Half-Genie Hero was an amazing game for me to play. I definitely recommend it for any gamers who enjoy platformers. The soundtrackShantae: Half-Genie Hero was an amazing game for me to play. I definitely recommend it for any gamers who enjoy platformers. The soundtrack was amazing, and it was suitable for every single stage (if that's what you call it). The graphics were great, too, and the fact that it's for almost every console and everyone will be able to enjoy it. My favorite characters tbh are either Shantae, Bolo, or Rottytops. Or Twitch & Vinegar. The levels were very appealing! (Hope this helps.)… Expand
  4. XTremeGamze
    Aug 27, 2018
    9
    Overall great game, a lot of back tracking though but new abilities allow you to unlock before unaccesible areas and gain new transformations,Overall great game, a lot of back tracking though but new abilities allow you to unlock before unaccesible areas and gain new transformations, abilities and items. Great music and art style. Platforming takes a while to get used to but is quite fun. Developers could add a more rich or longer story but what's there is great. Overall, I like this game but would like to see more story and more levels with a bit less backtracking.… Expand
  5. Keenanu
    Jul 31, 2017
    8
    Fun little metroidvania/sidescoller hybrid. You'll get about 6 or 7 hours of platforming, collectable hunting and backtracking out of this,Fun little metroidvania/sidescoller hybrid. You'll get about 6 or 7 hours of platforming, collectable hunting and backtracking out of this, and that's 100% completion with every collectable. I'd say play at the harder difficulty, normal was pretty easy. Half Genie Hero is a little more streamlined and linear than previous Shantae entries, with a hub world and the ability to fly to each area whenever you want. All you unlock after completing the game is hero mode which just gives you all of your abilities at the start of the game, so I don't see much replay value or longevity here.

    I'd give this a light recommendation seeing as there's not really anything like this on the switch just yet. I had no performance issues or long loading times at all and the game looks great on the switch.    … Expand
  6. Simoss13
    Jul 13, 2020
    5
    This was my first Shantae game and I think this will be my last. The reasons this was not a game for me is because:
    - The pacing on the game    This was my first Shantae game and I think this will be my last. The reasons this was not a game for me is because:
    - The pacing on the game was so slow in the beginning
    - The level design I feel was above average at best
    - The back tracking is awful (I know its a metroidvania) but how it was done, turned my off the genre for over a year
    - How Shantae was portrayed, feminist would have a field day with this if they knew...
    In saying this, I feel the jump and attack mechanics works really well and was satisfying. I liked the ability to morph to different animals (shame how it was implemented via the control scheme) and the graphics was REALLY nice. I was interested due to the morphs and graphics, but don't let pretty visuals fool you.
    I see the effort made to the game. I tried to like the game but couldn't. I rolled my eyes or sighed through half of the play through. There are much better metroidvanias out there. This on the other hand, was the only game I have actually deleted from my Switch    … Expand
  7. Subject98
    Aug 26, 2020
    4
    I'm a fan of platformers and metroidvanias, and while this game certainly functions okay in terms of controls, the way it was constructedI'm a fan of platformers and metroidvanias, and while this game certainly functions okay in terms of controls, the way it was constructed utterly ruins the whole experience. Instead of being true metroidvania with an interconnected map, this one is broken into 6 separate linear levels which require you to return to and replay each several times to do very minor tasks. I'm not even joking when I say I probably went back to the water level a dozen times. They do allow you to skip segments of each level but of course the water level had to have a sliding section at the end of it where you can't pause the game to skip it. Not to mention most of the quests you have to return to levels for make absolutely no sense, so it's not uncommon to go through an entire level again only to find out that wasn't the right place to go with the new transformation you unlocked or item you got. This is a 2 hour game stretched out to 6 or 7 hours with loads of padding. Way Forward do make really good games sometimes, I was quite fond of Shantae and the Pirate's Curse and The Mummy Demastered, but they missed the mark hard on this one.… Expand
  8. dunco64
    Nov 26, 2017
    0
    DO NOT BE FOOLED by the positive things you hear about this series, this game is an absolute smelly trash heap of a **** game. It starts outDO NOT BE FOOLED by the positive things you hear about this series, this game is an absolute smelly trash heap of a **** game. It starts out somewhat promising albeit very easy but with okay platformer mechanics, but the game IMMEDIATELY makes you backtrack to levels you have already been to, and not in a fun way like how in Metroid you backtrack because you get something new and cool to use and find more stuff in a previous area, no, they just tell you where to backtrack to and force you to go there and collect more ****
    The game is pretty much 95% backtracking which would be okay if the levels were fun enough to play again, but they are not at all satisfying to go back to over and over again, especially if you're not sure what they are having you backtrack to find. It all just becomes infuriating and boring, I recommend you do not waste your money on this piece of **** game unless you enjoy hating yourself and everything around you. Got about 2 hours out of it before it became unplayable.    … Expand

See all 16 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

32
#32 Best Switch Game of 2017
68
#68 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2017
50
#50 Most Shared Switch Game of 2017

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