Info about Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution:

Official game description:
Shantae is back in a 2D side-scrolling action-adventure game 20 years in the making! The nefarious pirate Risky Boots has a “groundbreaking” new plan that will leave Sequin Land spinning — by rotating the continent, she can move any town right to the coast for easy plundering! As Shantae, turn the tectonic tables on Risky by taking control of the land itself: shift, twist, navigate, and explore by swapping between mix-and-match multilayered levels! Hair-whip and belly-dance your way through scrambled lands, misplaced towns, monster-filled crypts, and daunting labyrinths. Six creature transformations, fierce boss battles, and a 4-player versus mode await!  
Key Features:  
• Discover the lost chapter of the Shantae saga, fully restored and released after 20 years!  
• Fight and explore using your hair-whipping ability, magic items, and belly-dance transformations (including monkey, elephant, crab, and more)!  
• Spin and shift Front Yard and Back Yard playfields to create new routes and solve puzzles!  
• Visit towns, battle through labyrinths, purchase upgrades, find collectables, and meet with friends like Rottytops, Sky, and Bolo!  
• For the first time ever in a Shantae game, four players can compete in Battle Mode! (Controllers required.)

Release date: Aug 19, 2025

Categories: 2D Side-scrolling, Metroidvania, Platformer, Action-Adventure, Transformation Mechanics, Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer, Puzzle Solving

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 20; verdict: Predatory DLC Practices; summary: The primary concerns revolve around the inability to purchase Deluxe Edition costumes separately as DLC, forcing players to repurchase the entire game for additional content. This practice is viewed as predatory and has led to significant user dissatisfaction. Additionally, there are complaints about the game and its DLC being overpriced compared to similar titles, and a lack of substantial new content in the DLC, further exacerbating the perceived poor value.
- Proton/Linux: score 30; verdict: Minor Tweaks; summary: The game requires Proton Experimental to run properly on Steam Deck, indicating some initial setup is needed for optimal performance. However, once configured, it runs well, suggesting good compatibility with Linux-based systems.
- Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The Steam Deck experience with this game is marred by significant compatibility and stability issues. Users frequently need to manually intervene by forcing Proton Experimental compatibility mode, and some experience frequent freezing. However, when the game runs, it performs well. Localization issues also pose a barrier for non-English speakers.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence consistently suggests that users find the game overpriced at its current price point and recommend waiting for a sale. This indicates that the community perceives the fair price to be lower than the current base game price. The repeated mentions of waiting for sales imply that a discounted price, likely in the range of $10 to $20, would be considered more reasonable.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 10.0h
  - Story completion: 5.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides direct and indirect indications of playtime metrics. The first quote suggests that completing the game 100% takes around 10 hours. The second quote indicates that the game is designed to be longer than 5 hours, implying that the main story completion is around that mark. The third quote reinforces the idea that the game is short and requires completionist play to reach higher playtimes. The fourth quote explicitly states that the game is about 5 hours long, supporting the story completion metric.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game has initial friction due to tedious mechanics and repetitive elements, but it becomes enjoyable once players get past these early issues.
  - Stance: Fun after initial friction
  - Anchor: Getting past initial tedious mechanics and repetitive elements.
  - Time to anchor: 1h 0m
  - Friction: Tedious foreground/background switching mechanic; Repetitive bosses; Confusing navigation
  - Unlock drivers: Overcoming initial tedious mechanics; Getting used to the game's flow
  - Conditions: Playing in multiplayer mode; Persisting through initial repetitive elements
- Player Archetypes:
  - Shantae Franchise Fan (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoyment of the Shantae series and its unique elements.
    - Playstyle: Completionist and achievement hunting.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Shantae fan; franchise fan
    - Reference games: Shantae: Risky's Revenge; Shantae: Pirate's Curse; Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
  - Casual Platformer Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: Accessibility and ease of getting into the game.
    - Playstyle: Casual playthrough, not necessarily aiming for completion.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: casual player; newcomer
    - Reference games: Other Metroidvania games; Platformers
  - Old-School Metroidvania Purist (buy)
    - Motivation: Appreciation for classic, old-school gaming experiences.
    - Playstyle: Seeking challenging and traditional gameplay.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: old-school player; retro gamer
    - Reference games: Classic Metroidvania games; GBA games


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Enjoyable characters and humor (weight 0.85): Players appreciate the game's characters, finding them fun, interesting, and charming. The humor is also highlighted as a strong point, making the game enjoyable.
- Fun and enjoyable gameplay (weight 0.54): The game is frequently described as fun and enjoyable, with players praising its gameplay and overall experience.
- Solid addition to the franchise (weight 0.36): The game is seen as a solid addition to the Shantae series, maintaining the high standards and quality of previous entries.
- Beautiful pixel art (weight 0.35): The pixel art style of the game is highly praised for its beauty and quality, adding to the game's charm and visual appeal.
- Shantae's classic action and humor (weight 0.32): Players enjoy the classic Shantae action and humor, appreciating the character's jokes and the series' creative gameplay.
- Enjoyable for series fans (weight 0.32): Fans of the Shantae series find the game particularly enjoyable, with lots of fan service and familiar gameplay.
- Short but funny story (weight 0.3): The game's story is described as short but funny, with excellent humor and cute moments.
- Impressive soundtrack (weight 0.26): The game's soundtrack is frequently mentioned as impressive and enjoyable, contributing to the overall positive experience.
- Solid gameplay and platforming (weight 0.25): The gameplay is praised for being solid and fun, with the game being a good platformer.
- Good difficulty level (weight 0.15): The game's difficulty is noted as good and comfortable, providing a balanced challenge for players.
- Good for Metroidvania fans (weight 0.15): The game is appreciated by fans of the Metroidvania genre, offering a classic experience with new features.
- Good replay value (weight 0.11): Players find the game to have good replay value, making it worth playing multiple times.
- Includes multiplayer mode (weight 0.11): The game introduces a multiplayer mode, which is noted as a new feature in the series.
- Developer provides technical solutions (weight 0.1): The developer is praised for providing workarounds and solutions to technical issues, improving the player experience.

Common complaints:
- Costumes locked to Deluxe Edition (weight 0.63): Players are frustrated that costumes are not available as separate DLC and are locked behind the Deluxe Edition, requiring purchase of the entire game again to access them.
- Poor optimization and performance issues (weight 0.55): The game suffers from various performance issues including bad optimization, slowdowns, freezing, and stuttering.
- Confusing level and map design (weight 0.51): The level design and navigation can be confusing and disorienting, with maze-like levels and unclear foreground/background mechanics.
- Overpriced and poor value (weight 0.32): The game is considered overpriced, especially the Deluxe Edition, which does not offer enough new content to justify the cost.
- No map system (weight 0.31): The game lacks a map or mini-map, making navigation difficult and confusing for players.
- Tedious and reused content (weight 0.28): The game features tedious puzzles, reused bosses, and recycled content, making it feel less innovative and more repetitive.
- Game is too short (weight 0.26): Players feel that the game is shorter compared to other entries in the series, providing less content for the price.
- Game crashes and technical issues (weight 0.21): The game experiences technical issues such as the screen turning black and not responding, as well as softlock issues.
- Collectibles lack purpose (weight 0.19): Collectibles in the game serve little to no purpose and are not rewarding, leading to frustration among players.
- Disappointing sequel (weight 0.17): The game is considered a step down from previous entries in the series, lacking the fluidity and depth that fans enjoyed in earlier games.
- Lack of language support (weight 0.14): The game lacks support for certain languages like Japanese and Chinese, making it difficult for non-English speaking players to understand dialogues.
- Cannot switch outfits mid-game (weight 0.13): Players are unable to change outfits once a playthrough has started, limiting customization options.
- Lack of New Game+ mode (weight 0.09): The absence of a New Game+ mode is seen as a missed opportunity for adding replay value to the game.
- Window resizing issues (weight 0.08): Players are unable to adjust the window size, which can be inconvenient for those who prefer to play in windowed mode.

Gameplay feedback:
- Two-layered world navigation (weight 0.36): The game features a unique mechanic of two-layered world navigation, allowing players to switch between foreground and background layouts.
- Metroidvania with unique features (weight 0.34): The game is a classic Metroidvania adventure with new features, including shape-shifting gameplay, magic, and transformations to save the day.
- Variety of enemies and bosses (weight 0.27): The game offers a variety of enemies and bosses, contributing to its challenging and engaging gameplay.
- Linear gameplay with backtracking (weight 0.24): The game has a linear approach with backtracking elements, requiring players to find new abilities to advance and discover secrets.
- Transformations and power-ups (weight 0.22): Character transformations and power-ups are key mechanics, allowing players to use magic and transformations to progress.
- Humor and funny story (weight 0.14): The game incorporates humor and a funny story, adding a lighthearted touch to the gameplay experience.
- Dungeon and level design (weight 0.1): The game features well-designed dungeons and levels, enhancing the exploration and adventure aspects.
- Significant improvements (weight 0.1): The game features many improvements over its predecessor, making it a significant advancement in the series.
- Multiplayer battle mode (weight 0.1): The game includes a multiplayer battle mode, adding a competitive element to the gameplay.
- Similar to Risky's Revenge (weight 0.1): The gameplay is similar to Risky's Revenge, offering a familiar experience for fans of the series.
- Genie protagonist (weight 0.09): The protagonist is a half-human, half-genie character, adding a unique twist to the game's story and gameplay.

Performance notes:
- Black screen issues (weight 0.34): Many players experience black screen problems, which can sometimes be fixed by adjusting language settings or using Proton Experimental mode on Steam Deck.
- Soft locking and glitching (weight 0.17): The game has soft locking issues and various glitches, which were particularly problematic at launch.
- Performance issues on different screens (weight 0.1): Players report performance issues on both laptop screens and external monitors, indicating widespread compatibility problems.
- Random stuttering and slowdowns (weight 0.1): Occasional slowdowns and random stuttering are common, affecting the overall gameplay experience.
- FPS limitations (weight 0.1): The game runs at locked FPS rates, such as 30 FPS or 40 FPS, which can be limiting for some players.
- Audio quality issues (weight 0.09): There are reports of poor audio quality, with some sounds being particularly problematic.
- Visual glitches and bugs (weight 0.08): The game has several bugs and visual glitches that detract from the overall experience.
- Initial lag fixed in patch (weight 0.05): Initial reviews mentioned significant lag and slow game speed, which were addressed in the first patch.
- Game launch issues for Japanese users (weight 0.05): Japanese users have reported specific issues with launching the game.
- Runs well on Steam Deck (weight 0.05): Despite other issues, the game runs well on the Steam Deck, especially with specific settings adjustments.
- Getting stuck in final dungeon (weight 0.05): Players have reported getting stuck running in place in the final dungeon's doors.

Recommendations:
- Wait for a sale (weight 0.36): Many reviewers suggest waiting for a price drop or getting the game on sale. It is often mentioned as worth getting but better to wait for a discount.
- Not ideal for newcomers (weight 0.35): The game may not appeal to newcomers and is not recommended as a starting point for the series. It is best suited for very fans of the saga.
- Recommended for Shantae fans (weight 0.34): The game is highly recommended for fans of the Shantae series, including those who enjoy classic games or have nostalgia for the GBA era. Casual fans might want to wait for a sale.
- Deluxe Edition for costumes (weight 0.15): The Deluxe Edition is recommended for those interested in additional costumes and content, especially if bought on sale.
- Recommend with caveats (weight 0.15): The game is recommended with some caveats. It might not be the best in the series but is still worth considering.
- Mixed recommendations on purchase (weight 0.13): There are mixed reviews on whether to buy the game or not. Some recommend buying it, while others advise against it.
- Desire for original Shantae port (weight 0.08): Some reviewers express a wish for a PC port of the original Shantae game, specifically the GBC version.
- Technical suggestions (weight 0.08): Some technical suggestions include playing with a joystick and in windowed mode to mitigate freezing issues.
- Good for fans of unusual platformers (weight 0.08): The game is noted as being good for fans of unusual platformers and has all the foundations of a Shantae game.
- Good game for its time (weight 0.08): The game is considered good for its time and is comparable to Pirate's Curse.
- Language support (weight 0.05): There is a hope for better Chinese language support in future games.
- Not an exceptional Metroidvania (weight 0.05): The game is considered not an exceptional Metroidvania but still has its merits.

Other player notes:
- DLC costumes affect gameplay (weight 0.06): Players have noted that DLC costumes come with changes to gameplay mechanics, which can alter the gaming experience.
- Purchase issues with DLC (weight 0.06): There are reports of problems related to purchasing costumes and other DLC content, indicating potential issues with the in-game store or payment system.
- Bunny suit sprite jumpscare (weight 0.05): A specific mention of a bunny suit sprite causing a jumpscare, which could be a notable in-game event or bug.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.2): Players are frustrated by technical issues such as performance problems, game freezing, and lack of optimization. Additionally, the game's design elements, including confusing level design, lack of a map, and the shift system, make navigation and exploration difficult. The DLC and Deluxe Edition pricing model, which locks costumes and game modes behind additional purchases, also contributes to player frustration.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.14): Players enjoy the game's fun gameplay, beautiful art and music, and humorous writing. The mix of old and new elements, along with interesting puzzles and charming characters, contributes to a positive experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.14): Players feel disappointed due to the game's technical issues, lack of language support, and the handling of DLC and Deluxe Edition content. The game's short length, weak story, and comparison to previous entries in the series also contribute to this disappointment.
- Joy (weight 0.11): Players experience joy from the game's enjoyable gameplay, charming characters, and excellent writing. The game's humor, transformations, and exploration mechanics, along with its beautiful art and soundtrack, contribute to a delightful experience.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.07): Players feel satisfied with the game's stable performance, classic Metroidvania gameplay, and adherence to the series' roots. The enjoyable gameplay, charming characters, and solid entry into the series contribute to this satisfaction.
- Excitement (weight 0.07): Players are excited about the game's release, unique charm, and new features such as the diving mechanic and level switching. The anticipation of playing the game and exploring its content adds to this excitement.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.06): Players feel nostalgic due to the game's classic gameplay, familiar elements, and comparison to older platforms. The preservation of a once-cancelled title and the feeling of playing a lost game from the GBA era evoke this nostalgia.
- Happiness (weight 0.02): Players are happy with Shantae's jokes, interactions, and the enjoyment of the game's elements. The excitement about new GBA games and seeing Shantae in her sprite form again contribute to this happiness.
- Hope (weight 0.02): Players hope for better language support, easy fixes for technical issues, and more similar games in the future. The game's promising aspects and potential for improvement contribute to this hope.
- Relief (weight 0.02): Players feel relieved that the game wasn't lost to time and that solutions to problems were found. The game starting when the language was set to English also contributes to this relief.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are surprised by the sudden intensity changes in the game and finding it more fun than expected. These unexpected elements contribute to a sense of surprise.
- Amusement (weight 0.01): Players are amused by the game's sense of humor and interactions between characters. The hilarious bits and character dynamics contribute to this amusement.
- Love (weight 0.01): Players love the game for its unique game design elements and enjoyable experience. The affection for Shantae and the game's fun aspects contribute to this love.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Players are interested in the game's terrain flipping gimmick and early idea of level layering. These unique mechanics spark curiosity and interest.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Players are angry due to poor optimization, mandatory DLC, and game crashes. The unavailability of DLC outfits for standard version buyers also contributes to this anger.}