Shantae and the Seven Sirens

 PC
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 33 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 33
  3. Negative: 4 out of 33

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. VirtualRapist69
    Jun 25, 2020
    7
    Better than half-genie hero but couldn't live up to pirate's curse. Honestly it's fun but lacks some polish, which is somewhat unsurprising given that it was a timed apple exclusive.
  2. Guardado
    May 30, 2020
    10
    The Game is so cool, because combine different Styles of animation and gameplay.
    Is very cute all characters.
  3. Dubeau
    Jun 2, 2020
    9
    The seven sirens was a fun side scrolling game. A nice and dynamic story with some surprises. Gameplay is almost perfect. Graphics are cell shaded, anime style. Very good music and voices overs. A lot of small secrets and controlled progression. One small draw back, is that some power ups aren't well explained, and there is no tutorial. I give it 88%. A great game with a lot of funThe seven sirens was a fun side scrolling game. A nice and dynamic story with some surprises. Gameplay is almost perfect. Graphics are cell shaded, anime style. Very good music and voices overs. A lot of small secrets and controlled progression. One small draw back, is that some power ups aren't well explained, and there is no tutorial. I give it 88%. A great game with a lot of fun elements. the game took 10 hours to finish with 65% items found.… Expand
  4. GAAA
    May 31, 2020
    10
    Eu nunca escrevo análises, porém esse jogo mudou isso. Sinceramente, eu não vi o tempo passando enquanto eu jogava, ou seja, é muito divertido e imersivo. Recomendo demais!
  5. lzw1214
    Jun 2, 2020
    9
    非常好玩的横版过关游戏，难度适中，没有跟风其他横版游戏把难度做的非常高。希望尽快修复下机翻中文和过长的过场读取。
  6. TheGameGrinder
    Jun 9, 2020
    10
    Loved it and I love this series. Got all achievements too! This one returns to Metroidvania roots, transformations implemented seamlessly like Pirate's Curse, and story and characters were fun a lot of fun! Great job WayForward!
  7. mothman_eddie
    Jun 10, 2020
    9
    This game is an amazing metroidvania. They took great mechanics from previous metroidvania games and combined them. The characters and sound are cute and fun, but there are still challenging parts in the game. Items get dropped often enough so you don;t ever need to grind.
  8. Zer0TheHer0
    Jul 19, 2020
    0
    loading times are insane. refunded because they were too much, how can it be possible that a small platform game loads so often for so long?
  9. Captain_Chaos
    Aug 13, 2020
    8
    I received Shantae and the Seven Sirens as a gift from a friend and was glad I did. It has all of the color, charm and musicality I've come to expect from the series, with the welcome return of the open-world exploration not seen since Risky's Revenge. It features animated cutscenes beyond just the intro, a series first, which you no doubt have heard were animated by Studio Trigger.I received Shantae and the Seven Sirens as a gift from a friend and was glad I did. It has all of the color, charm and musicality I've come to expect from the series, with the welcome return of the open-world exploration not seen since Risky's Revenge. It features animated cutscenes beyond just the intro, a series first, which you no doubt have heard were animated by Studio Trigger. There's also some character art by Inti Creates. It is unfortunate that Jake Kaufman was not involved with this game's soundtrack, but I hear he was busy and there's always next time. The game has a few design and technical issues that are oft vented about in the steam forums, though with an undue amount of vitriol. The game is a far cry from the disappointing DLCs for the previous title, further marking them as anomalies in a otherwise consistently fun and chill series.

    This entry sees our half-genie heroine and friends on a much needed island vacation to meet other half-genies, that quickly goes awry thanks to the unfailing appearance and malfeasance of pirate queen Risky Boots, and a new, mystical threat dwelling beneath the island. You'd think Risky would stop being such a pain in the ♥♥♥ after having HER ♥♥♥ repeatedly saved by Shantae, but hey, at least she's consistent.

    As mentioned above, this fifth iteration marks the return of the Metroid-style map layout last seen in the second game, with a number of interconnected regions and three different hub towns, each with multiple exits and warp rooms. The game is still fairly linear otherwise and compared to its inspirations, with core ability progression taking you from one region to the next in sequence, but with room to backtrack and search for collectibles at pretty much any point up to and including standing outside the final boss's door. However, outside of the dungeons there is no way to track your collected items, and no way of even knowing your overall completion percentage without quitting back to the file select screen. This is a rather glaring omission from any metroidvania, and certainly from a fifth title in a series. Thanks to the map guide here on steam I was able to find everything, but I had to revisit several areas more then I would have liked. Regardless, it was far from impossible to achieve 100% completion.

    Dance magic returns, but is handled differently then before- traversal abilities are now regulated to dedicated quick button inputs a la Pirate's Curse, with the actual dances now resulting in screen-filling spell effects that can do damage, heal Shantae (and certain other characters and objects) and reveal secrets. Coupled with the series mainstay attack spells such as the orbiting spikeballs, that run of a Zelda-style magic meter, Shantae has more means of attack and healing then ever before, and that's saying something. Shantae 5 is still far to the easy side of metroidvanias and platformers, and though this is a frequent point of complaint against the series, I would kindly ask those people to ♥♥♥♥ off and leave me to my enjoyment. Go play Hollow Knight if you want to be punished while collecting things so badly. That's a great game mind you, but I maintain that games being "too easy" is an entitlement problem as compared to games being too hard being an accessibility problem. Any time Wayforward has listened to these types of complaints, the resulting changes have been to the game's detriment.

    The game runs well for the most part and controls fine on keyboard, in contrast to a lot of platformers. The default control mapping, as in 1/2 Genie Hero, is very similar to the control mapping I used in the typical SNES emulator, a surprising bonus. Unlike the fourth game however, this game is subject to a weird loading issue where it places a strain on my processor and takes just a few seconds longer then it seemingly ought to. It doesn't go above the level of low-grade irritation but it never got any better in that regard. The game also crashes on exit, for what that's worth, and crashed seconds into a new game as well until I verified the steam files.

    The series' penchant for amusing dialogue, appealing character designs for protagonists, NPCs, enemies and bosses alike, somewhat interesting but not frustrating dungeon mechanics and presentation in boss fights are present and accounted for, and Seven Sirens exceeds 1/2 Genie Hero in overall quality, especially when I take things like Friends to the End and the Costume Pack into account. I feel that Pirate's Curse was still the strongest entry in the series, but Seven Sirens has a level of glam, glitter and visual polish which belies the series' humble Game Boy Color origins, and it was enough fun that I didn't put it down until the credits rolled. Technical and design shortcomings aside, Seven Sirens is every bit the charming cartoon adventure the genre deserves and a sign of even better genie goodness in the future.    … Expand
  10. GregLobstery
    Jul 22, 2022
    0
    much better Shantae game after Half-Genie Hero but please bring back Jake Kaufman
  11. hoviadko123
    Sep 10, 2022
    9
    Metroidvania style returns in Seven Sirens, which I’m glad cause I like labyrinths in Shantae games. Map is absolutely great imo. Gameplay is very smooth, you can use these new transformations immediately, which fasten the gameplay. Great simple story. Boss fights are also very cool. As for soundtrack and Shantae design, I personally think, Seven Sirens has the best soundtrack and ShantaeMetroidvania style returns in Seven Sirens, which I’m glad cause I like labyrinths in Shantae games. Map is absolutely great imo. Gameplay is very smooth, you can use these new transformations immediately, which fasten the gameplay. Great simple story. Boss fights are also very cool. As for soundtrack and Shantae design, I personally think, Seven Sirens has the best soundtrack and Shantae design in whole series for now.… Expand
  12. HungryRamona
    Mar 29, 2023
    7
    If Half-Genie Hero and Pirate's Curse had a child

    Shantae and the Seven Sirens is really a great game. Like its last 2 predecessors, this game was really a lot of fun. It used a lot of elements that worked well in the past and also incorporates a lot of new elements, but unfortunately the game also has some negatives, which we'll get to in a moment. Cons: - Very long loading time    If Half-Genie Hero and Pirate's Curse had a child

    Shantae and the Seven Sirens is really a great game. Like its last 2 predecessors, this game was really a lot of fun. It used a lot of elements that worked well in the past and also incorporates a lot of new elements, but unfortunately the game also has some negatives, which we'll get to in a moment.

    Cons:

    - Very long loading time between areas. Sometimes you have to wait up to 30 seconds until the new area is loaded, and that despite a fast SSD.
    - It is nowhere marked where you have what collected already. Is just quite annoying for 100% because you have to go 1000 times through the same areas to see if you already have everything collected.
    - Map is pretty useless. It just shows how individual areas are divided, but does not show whether you can currently get through there, collectibles are not displayed, hardly any labeling, generally quite empty, I would have liked more.

    Pro:

    - fully animated cutscenes with voice acting. There has never been anything like that in the Shantae series before, and I think it's really nice that WayForward dared to do something like that.
    - The soundtrack is once again really well done, you notice that Jake Kaufmann wasn't involved this time, but still it's good to have a little change.
    - I love the graphic style, I'm really glad they kept the one from Half-Genie Hero.
    - Story wasn't overly exciting, but it was still okay, with some twists and turns that kept you interested.
    - Varied boss fights
    - The quick transformation system, that you don't have to wait so long until Shantae is transformed, but is instantly the animal you need, makes the gameplay smoother.

    All in all, Shantae and the Seven Sirens is really a very successful game, I can really recommend it.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Best PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Eurogamer Italy
    Jul 23, 2020
    70
    This fifth installment in the Shantae series is still an enjoyable game but too short and with a flat-level challenge.
    Read full review
  2. Impulsegamer
    Jul 2, 2020
    78
    Overall if you like the recent Shantae games you will like Seven Sirens. Do not expect anything game changing from this game as it is more of a follow on continuation from the previous game in terms of style and substance. If you are looking for a Metroidvania game to play this may not quite scratch that itch. The collection process can feel laborious at times but it does add towards the replay ability of the game.
    Read full review
  3. GameGrin
    Jun 22, 2020
    90
    Shantae and the Seven Sirens is easily the best in the series and one of WayForward's most enjoyable video games to date.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »