Rise & Shine

Rise & Shine for PC and XONE combines elements typical for classic platformers with mechanics of dynamic, arcade shooters. The game was created by Super Mega Team – an independent developer.

Plot

The player is taken to Gamearth – a fantasy planet whose inhabitants have enjoyed peaceful and abundant existence. The idyllic life ends with the arrival of space invaders that call themselves Nexgen. The titular Rise is an 11-year-old who decides to take matters into his own hands and put an end to the plans of the attackers, who, so far, have been successful. In order to achieve this goal, the boy makes use of a holy artifact, which is a pistol known as Shine.

Mechanics

Rise & Shine for PC and XONE is played in a side perspective. Exploring diverse locations is the key element of gameplay here, but jumping across platforms, avoiding traps, solving simple puzzles, and fighting enemies are also at the core of this experience. In terms of puzzle solving and combat, it is essential to use the unique abilities of the gun carried by the protagonist – the player can switch between different modes of Shine, changing the way the pistol works. In so doing, one can access remotely controlled bullets, which for example, allow the protagonist to push a button located at the other end of a labirynth; for instance, one also gains access to the ammunition enriched with an electric charge – this allows Rise to discover new passages, which could not be discovered by any other means.

Different enemies were included in the game, and those make it harder for the protagonist to achieve their goal. The player encounters both typical "cannon fodder" in large numbers (mainly smaller robots and zombies) and powerful bosses with greater durability and attack power. As in bullet hell shooter games, the screen is often covered with a true blizzard of bullets that are hard to avoid – so the experience is characterized by a high difficulty level, though the system of respawns brings some relief, because the number of them is not limited.

Technical aspects

Rise & Shine for PC and XONE offers high-quality 2D visuals, characteristic because of their cartoonish art style. Particular levels were based on a neat, multi-layer parallax effect (which creates an illusion of three dimensions) as well as polished and detailed graphics.

Last updated on 16 January 2017