Games aimed at children can be a tricky bunch. Never mind the fact that lots of parents let their own kids play Mature-rated games such as Call of Duty (which I am not going to judge in this article); due to the fact that the kids who play video games today are going to be the gamer geeks of tomorrow, games aimed at this audience are either developed with total apathy, resulting in more mass-produced dross; or are carefully crafted and articulated into a game that’s hard for an adult to resist, let alone a child. While most games aimed at kids these days are sadly the former variety, there are a select few games out there that have the quality that not only attracts kids to the world of video games, but keeps adults interested in the medium as well. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is one of these games. You’re probably wondering what Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet has to do with kids in the first place. Well, the connection is that the game was inspired by a series of shorts shown on the kids channel Nickelodeon, collectively titled “Insanely Twisted Shadow Puppets.” These shorts were aired during Nickelodeon’s Halloween special in 2005. The shorts have gone on to win numerous awards, and from there, they would live on in animation legend to the point where the creator teamed up with the game development studio Fuelcell to create Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet. I can assure you that at least to this writer Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet will have a legend of its own.
To start with, ITSP has its own unique art style, which I think you can grasp the overall feel from the very title of the game. It can best be described as dark but cartoon-like: there are plenty of scary elements like the usual tentacles, spikes, and other visual cues representing danger, but they’re all rendered with a charm and softness that does more to invite one in than repulse, as if the designers knew how to stoke morbid curiosity. I don’t know how much of ITSP’s animation and graphical content is hand-drawn, but all of it certainly looks that way in-game, and kudos should go to the graphical programmers for their efforts. Perhaps the best aspect about ITSP’s graphics, though, is that they are the epitome of the artistic maxim of “show, don’t tell” – they are most effective when telling the fantastical story that drives the game forward. That story is one that drives a game that is just a joy to play. The best way to describe how the game plays is that ITSP is Limbo meets Super Metroid. In other words, picture a game where puzzles are the key element driving the game forward, but in order to solve those puzzles, you must continually explore every nook and cranny of the gameplay area and increase your powers by finding collectibles. These collectibles are not only useful in solving these puzzles but also help out in combat, should you find the right creative application. Add to that that you’re in a flying saucer the whole time, restricted in movement only by the barriers that you have to find the right tool with which to take them down, and it creates a really mind-bending experience that takes the best of gaming, combines it, and delivers a darkly blissful package to the senses that lures you in like the Sirens of Greek myth.
As far as the audio, there have been many games that have had silent protagonists over the years, and these games tend to be a mixed bag. When they're not done right, they tend to be tepid and boring, like Timeshift, but when done correctly, they can be brilliant, like the Half-Life series and Limbo. ITSP is one of the latter category of absolutely brilliant games with a silent protagonist, but ITSP actually takes the idea of silence a step further, having no dialogue whatsoever, much like Limbo; not only that, but it’s not only sound effects that communicate the state of the game and the flying saucer to the player, but the music. Getting hit in combat rewards you with a shrill blast of bass-heavy wind instruments, and some bosses even use sounds as cues in how to fight them. ITSP is undoubtedly an experience that focuses on the single-player, but unbelievably it has a multiplayer experience as well…and it’s not a throwaway experience, but one that actually enriches the game! The multiplayer portion of ITSP is called Lantern Run, and in it, up to four players have to drag lanterns behind them while a horrible creature of darkness (there’s really no other way to describe it) pursues them. There are some areas where the focus is on combat and all enemies must be destroyed to move on, and in these areas it’s pretty much every saucer for itself, but there are also areas where players have to work together to clear the obstacles ahead so they can all progress.
It’s a really creative way of expanding the game’s mechanics into a multiplayer situation that is innovative. ITSP has a lot in common with Limbo and Super Metroid, and this includes their flaws as well: like Limbo, the price is steep for what you get, as the main game can be finished in a similar length of time (3-6 hours), and like Super Metroid, once the main game is beaten there’s not as much incentive to do it again outside of completing it faster and with fewer items…and sadly ITSP is somewhat inferior to Super Metroid in this regard, having no Achievements to reward speed runs or minimalist runs. However, I suspect that is what DLC is for, as ITSP has an option to “Download Content,” which I expect will be exploited in the future. Fuelcell, you know what to do. And as for all of us video game players, well, you know what to do too, and that is: buy Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet! Despite the fact that it was inspired by shorts that aired on a kids’ TV network, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is a game for all ages to enjoy. That is the rarest kind of game to behold these days, and each game that fits this description is a treasure to be respected.
