- Publisher: Devolver Digital
- Release Date: May 1, 2025
- Also On: Switch
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Jun 9, 2025Shotgun Cop Man knows that it's a precision platformer, but that doesn't stop it from having a great sense of self-aware absurdist humour. It's not story rich or dense at all, but it understands perfectly that it doesn't need to be because it knows itself as a game. Your name is Shotgun Cop Man, you are here to arrest Satan, and you are going through the nine circles of hell to do so. You look like an untextured Blender asset, Satan is wearing a fishnet top, you are always dual wielding a shotgun with another weapon, and every time you try to arrest him all he ever says to you is "Fuck you, Shotgun Cop Man". This is tremendously fantastic minimalist worldbuilding that in and of itself is enjoyable because of how it's delivered and because it's just fun tongue-in-cheek escapism.
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Apr 30, 2025Shotgun Cop Man is an atypical twin stick action shooter platformer, which does not include traditional jumps and you fly through the air exclusively using the recoil of the weapons. The Super Shotgun projects with powerful shots, while the pistol allows you to glide and correct the trajectory. Infinite ammo, reload only on contact with the ground and short but intense levels require precision and planning. The gameplay blends creative movement and tense combat, with additional challenges to eliminate all enemies, avoid damage and complete the levels within time limits. Minimalist graphics, an adrenaline-filled soundtrack and an integrated level editor complete an experience designed for fans of technical and hardcore platformers.
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May 2, 2025Shotgun Cop Man is a platformer shooter that, while somewhat underwhelming, still manages to offer a reasonably enjoyable experience.
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May 7, 2025Shotgun Cop Man is a fast-paced, straightforward, and humorous experience that relies on a creative mechanic to offer something different within the 2D platformer genre. While it lacks enemy variety and more robust challenges, the game delivers fun moments, especially for those looking for something light and casual.
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Apr 30, 2025Shotgun Cop Man is just dumb fun, with a short yet excellently done campaign that feels satisfying to beat. What else do you need to have a good time?
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Apr 30, 2025Shotgun Cop Man is a left field nostalgia trip that hits just about every shot from the volley it unloads — from its engaging, refined movement to its distinct level design ideas to its compelling time trials. That makes it all the more disappointing that it’s missing a couple of load-bearing features for any game that’s all about sanding down your runs to the last second, like a way to quickly restart from the start of a level after each death. Still, using firearms to fly through the air is a total blast, and I’m excited to get back to chasing better times and more precise runs through the underworld.
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Apr 30, 2025Shotgun Cop Man is fun, fast-paced, focused. It wants to do one thing and it does it well: fly us through the circles of hell as we shoot at demons trying to defend their Lord, Satan. It is a pity that it is graphically limited and that the longevity is limited even for those who want to complete it 100%, because it is absolutely one of the most fun and immediate games of the moment.
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Apr 30, 2025Take an indie platformer like VVVVVV or Downwell and up the ultraviolence, that's Shotgun Cop Man.
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Apr 30, 2025Like other precision platformers before it, Shotgun Cop Man takes a deliberate gameplay-first approach and trades even a fun story for a few gags and quips. Its unique approach to movement is enough of a hook to push you through the game’s many, many levels, however, I do think the game will live and die, and perhaps avoid premature damnation, on its custom levels.
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Apr 30, 2025Shotgun Cop Man delivers fast-paced, precision platforming that feels excellent once it has its hooks in you. It gets straight to the good stuff and strikes a great balance between approachability and difficulty. A few of the mechanics stand out as weaker than the rest, but the level design brings them together to create some really fun and challenging experiences.
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May 1, 2025Shotgun Cop Man is fast-paced and fluid platforming bliss that evolves mechanically through the game, but it lacks any kind of visual variety to help make the hundred or so levels stand out from each other in any meaningful way.
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May 1, 2025I enjoyed my time with Shotgun Cop Man but, where I couldn’t stop replaying My Friend Pedro, I don’t see myself returning to this one. Shotgun Cop Man is frantic, fun, and funny. It is also repetitive, irritating, and doesn’t separate itself from the pack. What it does have is enough charm and sharp gameplay to make itself a worthy pickup. It also has a great title. Shotgun. Cop. Man.
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| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
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May 5, 2025Once you understand how to navigate just with Shotgun Cop Man’s guns, you can really fly around the levels like some kind of cartoony action hero. By the end, you’ll use those guns to give the finger right back to Satan.
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Apr 30, 2025But seriously, if you’re looking for a new platforming obsession? Shotgun Cop Man is your man. It’s weird, quirky, and plays like a dream. Plus, trying to precision platform while only having shotguns available to propel you forward is a nightmare in all of the right ways. I don’t think anything can match this madcap energy quite as well as Deadtoast Entertainment did, and I’ll be in line for their next weird project. [Highly Recommended]