Super Rocket Shootout
Nintendo Switch

Developed By : Oddly Shaped Pixels
Published By : Plug In Digital
Category : Fighting, Action, Platformer, Action
Release Date : April 05, 2018

When bank heists go wrong, someone is always to blame obviously. Unfortunately for Maurice and Bruto, their downfall usually ends up being The Twins. Super Rocket Shootout on the Switch follows four heisters as their jobs go wrong, and things fall apart then mend between them.

The story starts off in the middle of a bank, prior to it’s grand opening. Four robbers (Maurice, Bruto, and the Twins, only referred to as Good Twin and Bad Twin) enter, only to find…nothing. The bank is completely empty of any sort of money. Which is normal because it doesn’t even open for another month. Initially, Good Twin is to blame, but he quickly shifts the blame to one of the other four and a one-on-one fight ensues. Right in the middle of the bank, setting off every alarm possible so that when the dust finally settles, the four must escape together.

Over the course of seven chapters/stages, you’ll join this band, playing as each one in turn, having epic bit-style battles with shotguns, jetpacks, grenades, mines…anything explosive. Later chapters will introduce a few extra characters, but the mechanics remain the same. Each character can perform jumps and double jumps, glide with their jetpacks, shoot their guns or toss any throwable ammo they might have. The goal? Simple, defeat whoever you’re facing off against. It will vary with each level how many times you’ll need to be the victor, so keep on pushing until the fat lady starts singing.

Combat remains the same across all characters. All have access to the same random power-ups that will drop in crates in each level. All can counter and build up a special meter which is called a Super Bar. This bar appears over the character, between their head and their health bar, and can hold up to four slots. You’ll get two uses out of this bar as well. One, by holding L or R and shooting your gun, it’ll produce a more powerful shot to deal a bit of extra damage. The other use is if you fill it up all the way, pressing both shoulder buttons simultaneously to active your character’s Super.

The Super is a special move that is exclusive to each character. Good Twin, for example, become invincible for a short while, but Bruto grows in size and deals more damage. These moves are so much fun, able to turn the tide of battle as soon as they’re activated.

Outside of Story Mode, players can choose between Arcade and Shootout modes. Arcade brings you to a Mortal Kombat style ladder to progress through. Each stop on the ladder is a best-of-three match so get those victories fast. Shootout, on the other hand, lets you play with up to three other fighters (controlled by human or CPU) in a single round face-off.

If you’re looking for a long, meaningful story experience, Super Rocket Shootout will definitely not be for you. This story is over just as soon as it starts. However, this game is beautiful, and it’s fun. The battles can feel pretty intense as you zip around in jetpacks, trying to come out on top. Got some buddies you like to game with? Add this to the library and you’ll have countless hours of fun. But, if you’re a solo-only player, it may be safe to let this one go.

Playability

Due to the pixel-art visual style of Super Rocket Shootout, I personally preferred to play this handheld mode. The game looks just as beautiful on a big screen, it just feels more…right on a smaller screen though. Control-wise, it makes no difference. No style plays better or worse than any others.