Review | Game review: Rise & Shine – cool and pretty, but not one for the uninitiated
Despite pure action gameplay, over-the-top weapons, stunning visuals, and surprisingly three-dimensional characters, Rise & Shine is difficult to play and probably not one for casual gamers
Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team
3 stars
The problem with postmodern, tongue-in-cheek, parody/homage/tribute games – apart from the fact the market is flooded with them – is that they rarely satisfy. They’re too snappy, too quick, too witty for their own good, and that apparent sharpness is rarely applied to the gameplay.
Still, Rise & Shine – which is loaded with innumerable references to classics of the past, everything from mushroom kingdoms to familiar RPG settings – had us fooled for a bit.
Players take the reins of spunky kid Rise and his weapon, which of course is named Shine. You need to blast your way through a characteristically classic side-scrolling run-and-gun shooter, in an admittedly beautiful setting.