Twin Shot Review – Pew, I’m A Cupid

Does Twin Shot doing anything new? No.

Does it pull off being an action platformer well? Yes.

Nitrome’s adorable two player platformer doesn’t break any barriers or do anything revolutionary, but it is pretty fun whether playing solo or with a friend.

To put things simply, Twin shot puts you in control of an arrow shooting cherub just looking for some platforming adventure. Shoot enemies, shoot your arrows into walls to make yourself some stairs, and collect coins. Kill of the enemies in an level and you move onto the next one.

There’s a bit more here than that, though. For instance, there are no technical borders to each level. If you go off the left side of the screen, you come out of the right. The same goes for the top and bottom portions of the screen as well. There are also multiple types of blocks, each with their own function. Some work as springs, some disappear, and some are just kind of there. The wrap-around level approach and the number of block types and enemies keep the game from being “too simple” and make it interesting through all 50 levels.

So, how does a co-op flash game work? Player 1 takes control of the arrow keys and space bar (or Ctrl key) for firing, while player 2 takes control of WASD and the F key. It’s a bit cramped, but there aren’t really that many options for shared-keyboard control schemes. If you’re looking to play solo, you can use either the arrow or WASD keys for movement.

As always, Nitrome has done a great job with the sprites in Twin Shot. The cherubs are cute and fat, and the enemies are colorful (for the most part) and unique. The different types of blocks have their subtle differences as well, so you know what you’re getting into before jumping on the wrong block and making a mistake.

To be honest, Twin Shot isn’t the best looking or most difficult platformer Nitrome has put out, but it is one of the longest and most varied as you play through it. It has enough challenge to keep you playing, but not enough to make you not want to play anymore. The co-op aspect of the game is a nice addition, but the cramped keyboard layout might make you have second thoughts on playing with a friend.