Minishoot' Adventures

Smooth.

Developed by a two-man team, Minishoot’ Adventures shouldn't play as well as it does. This twin-stick shooter take on The Legend of Zelda is one of the most polished and great-feeling games I've played in a long time. If either of those genres interests you, then you owe it to yourself to check this game out. 

Minishoot’ Adventures is a very simple game; from its story, gameplay, and progression systems, there is no complexity to anything the game throws at you, but I don't mean that as any sort of negative. This is a refreshing, simple game that knows what it needs to be, what it needs to offer, and how it goes about delivering it.

As corruption has taken your home, you, a small Shipling, are tasked with saving your friends, and defeating this invasion of evil forces. You'll explore a land that would feel right at home as a classic Zelda game, all while being a tiny little ship with a whole lot of power. 

As you defeat enemies or shoot red crystals, you'll consume them, and they will work towards filling a meter where they turn into a blue crystal. Your upgrades, such as how powerful your ship’s guns are, how fast they shoot, and your overall range, are fueled by these crystals. Each upgrade has multiple tiers that cost more, but enhance your capabilities even further. 

You'll also be on the lookout for heart pieces that, once you collect four of them, increase your health. These are often found in locations you'll enter from false walls or dead ends hidden around you. You'll also find deposits of those red crystals hidden around everywhere as well. And, to add, this is also how you'll find map pieces, as they will be hidden from plain sight more often. 

As you vanquish bosses and save your shipmates, you'll also find them out and about, frozen by corruption and imprisoned in purple crystals. These allies open up shops and do what they can to offer goods that increase your power, such as increasing your gun level, or items that assist in tracking down collectibles and knowing if an area has all its objectives met.

You'll eventually find upgrades and abilities, such as the dash, which can be upgraded to pass through bullets. These upgrades come at specific times and areas, and will help you maneuver around locations you previously couldn't access, such as using the dash to leap over ramps that make up a good portion of the map.

What I like about the upgrade system is that you can reshuffle your points however you see fit. If you don't need speed or the points if you spent toward your pulse blast, you can move those points around to serve your needs; you're never locked into anything particular build. 

The shooting itself feels great, but it is the smooth handling of your ship that helps in staying alive. Honestly, this is one of the best feeling games to move around in. And, with a few different difficulty settings, you can find the best option for you, as you dodge numerous bullet-hell encounters, weaving and dashing around as you attempt to come out on top.

The world you are set to save looks exactly like the first Zelda game, with a simple use of color to identify the location you are in, with a variety of dungeons that are filled with enemies, collectibles, and other shiplings and allies to rescue, or even race. Every time I figured I had seen what the game offered, a nice little distraction or path would reveal itself and give me more to do.

Now, all that said, my only real critique is how similar much of this game looks from one area to the next. Yes, there is a solid variety when you are not on the surface, but apart from a few select areas, it can be hard to determine if you are somewhere new or passing by that same rock a dozen times over. It’s a small gripe, and given the size of the team, I’m not too annoyed by it. 

Minishoot’ Adventures runs at around 10 hours long, and never looks to overstay its welcome. The upgrades come fast, and the bullets even more so. The clever bosses and level design always feel good, and it simply just feels great to play. While I never thought about mixing a twin-stick shooter with the gameplay of classic Zelda, I'm glad these two did, as it's a match made in heaven.

Developer - SoulGame Studio. Publisher - SoulGame Studios, Indie Ark, Seaven Studio. Released - March 3rd, 2026. Available On - Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC. Rated - (E 10) Fantasy Violence. Platform Reviewed - Nintendo Switch 2. Review Access - A review code for Minishoot’ Adventures was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.