Rise & Shine | Xbox One

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Rise & Shine is a gorgeously illustrated adventure that’s equally vibrant and violent throughout its short duration. Despite a strong aesthetic and solid mechanics, however, its shortcomings leave it placing no immediate demands on your time or money.

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​By Sam
​Sant

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​@SlamShotSam

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Developer: Super
Awesome Hyper
Dimensional Mega
​Team
Publisher: Adult Swim
Games
Platforms: Xbox One,
PC
Players: 1 

When Nexgen invaders begin ransacking Gamearth (yes, really) young Rise finds himself entangled in the ensuing panic. Rise witnesses The Legendary Warrior fail in his role as planetary defender and takes possession of his living pistol, Shine, in the process thrusting himself into a war that will decide Gamearth’s fate.

Rise is a reluctant hero, understandably, especially considering his tender age, but battle-hardened Shine pushes him onwards. The titular duo are a unique pairing that, while well-written, are limited by their text-based interactions - full voiceover would have brought them to life in much more dynamic fashion.

As you might have expected with Adult Swim on publishing duties and Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team developing, Rise & Shine has inherent comedy trappings. Its self-aware brand of humour mostly misses the mark, unfortunately, relying on visual gags that riff on popular franchises and poking fun at video game convention while closely adhering to it in order to counterintuitively make the point.

Thankfully, gameplay fares better. 2D shootouts are more considered than those found in many of the run and gun classics that undoubtedly served to inspire the game (at least in part). You can’t aim or shoot whilst on the move, necessitating the use of cover and a more ‘stop and pop’ play style, though there’s no compromising action or excitement in the process. That’s largely due to the game’s consistent level of challenge, which, outside of a difficulty spike at the end, manages to straddle the thin line between rewarding and annoying without crossing it.

You’ll frequently gather power-ups to help negotiate the steepening difficulty curve, which simultaneously serve to rejuvenate Shine - which is important, as he’s the solitary weapon - by introducing new ammo and shot types to switch between as enemy weaknesses dictate. Shot types also introduce simple puzzles to solve, each one iterating on the last, repeatedly asking you to navigate radio-controlled bullets through tight mazes or to time explosive shot detonations to your advantage. Despite being all too easy, the excursions do make for a welcome change of pace.​

Its self-aware brand of humour mostly misses the mark, unfortunately.

Thankfully, gameplay fares better.

Varied and engaging pacing is one of the game’s strengths, cramming a shoot ‘em up vehicle section, mini-games, edge-of-your-seat boss battles and more into a range of locales across a tight 2-3 hour runtime. Though it’s an enjoyable ride, there’s little reason to take it again unless you’re hunting achievements.

A serious visual treat, Rise & Shine’s gourmet presentation could be misleading. Lazy attempts at humour that rely on references without substance and an unsatisfying portion size make it more akin to gaming fast food. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, we all enjoy it from time to time, just don’t expect anything more than a quick and dirty burger.

Pros

• Beautiful hand-drawn visuals
• Solid arcade-shooter action
• Nails difficulty level (for the most part)
• Varied gameplay makes for a well-paced adventure
• Rise and Shine are a fun mismatch

Cons

• Referential humour misses the mark
• Short and lacking replay value
• Text-based character interactions are limiting
• Jarring difficulty spike at the end

Score 7/10