Game Review: Shooty Skies by Mighty Games - Your New Shooter Game Addiction

Why are shooting games so addicting? Why is it so had to resist a game that has such simple mechanisms and usually not even a real story (in app games of course) to back them up? The answer to these questions could only be summed up to a simple phrase: Because it’s fun! Honestly, before the whole smartphone boom, weren’t we all playing unstoppable the simple shooting games with spaceships that out phones provided? I think this joy is something that is hard to forget so when a good shooting game comes out, it’s hard to go unnoticed! Especially when it’s developed by people who also worked on the famous Crossy Road! So, without further ado, I present you Shooty Skies!

Gameplay

I’m skipping the Plot section because in Shooty Skies, just like Crossy Road, there is not story to tell, apart from the general idea- which is that the player controls a plane driven by cute creatures and must shoot in-coming enemies while avoiding their continuous attacks. As you can guess, it is an endless game, following the route of Crossy Road, even in terms of appearance and mechanics. However, instead of trying to cross the road and avoid being hit by vehicles, in Shooty Skies you try to fly as far as possible and you have the power to destroy the obstacles, unlike Crossy Road where you’re pretty much helpless in the defence aspect.

The controls are simple and very intuitive. They obey completely to the finger’s movement and this is very important because avoiding the enemy fire is the only way to survive. All the player has to do is swipe towards the direction they want to go (left, right, up and down) and no matter which way you go, the plane will keep shooting. You don’t have to do do anything to trigger the shooting; in fact, if you stop swiping, the plane will start charging its special attack and the moment you swipe again, it will be shot to the enemy causing greater damage than normal fire.

Power-ups are also present in the form of gifts that you need to shoot to reveal the content (which still won’t reveal itself before you use it) and then collect to make use of it. These power-ups include a wide range shooting capability, an ally in a smaller plane that shoots enemies together with you (I’ve been helped by a kitty and a dog until this point), and many more waiting for you to uncover them.

One of the most interesting aspects of the game are the characters that appear and mainly the enemies. As for the characters, you can use go they’re all adorable with the main one being a kitty wearing a flying suit. The rest are unlocked through gift boxes, just like in Crossy Road. Speaking of which, many of its characters make an appearance on Shooty Skies as well, which is definitely a surprise for the fans! This was a real treat for me, and I’m sure for everyone who loves that game.

But the main stars of the game are the enemies, hands down. It is obvious that the developers really took their time with them and created some amazing characters. Among them you’ll encounter little robots, old-school TVs with grey screens, arcade machines, YouTube videos with cats and others (my personal favorites) that shoot buttons at you, toasters, and many more. There are also bosses although it will take long before you encounter one, and among them is even the arch-enemy of Crossy Road, the Eagle! That was a pleasant surprise for me although I know it sound weird sine it’s a hard to defeat boss. Other bosses include giant beavers and more.

Depending on which character you unlock to play, the background changes into something that matches the character. For instance, Hugzilla fights in a black and white city, Fish Tank in a river, Catshark in space and so on. But keep in mind that not every character comes with a different setting, but many share the same one.

Unlocking characters is not the only option in Shooty Skies, as it is in Crossy Road. In this game you can also change guns by spending coins that you collect in-game or through gifts, or, in some cases, by watching an ad. The most expensive gun will be easy to get after a few rounds and gifts, as it only costs 1000 coins. After you start playing, you’ll realize that coins will not be a problem and you’ll always have plenty at your disposal. I never run out of them, and I didn't play conservatively either.

That’s because the game is very generous yet difficult, and after losing it gives you the option to continue from where you left of either by watching an ad or spending a few coins. That means you can keep your coins for other needs and go with the game ad option. Also, every while you are given free gifts that reward you with plenty of coins. To unlock characters though you’ll have to spend coins and get one randomly as a gift.

To balance this generosity though, the game itself gets really hard after some point and bullets will come at you from everywhere making any attempt to escape almost futile. There are targets set though, and after reaching one you are rewarded with a gift.

In-App Purchases

As we analyzed earlier, most features of Shooty Skies are available without having to spend real money. The only exceptions to this are a few characters that are only purchasable via IAPs and one of them has the ability to double the coins you collect every time you play. As you can see, there’s nothing that a player needs in order to have better chances against enemies and the IAPs are simply there for people who want to own all characters.

Also, you can buy every character through IAP in case you don’t want to collect the from the gift machine.

Graphics & Sounds

Similarly to Crossy Road, the graphics of Shooty Skies follow the same retro style, with pixelated characters and backgrounds, all mixed with 3D designs. The colors are lively and vibrant, and everything looks so adorable to the point that it’s hard to focus on enemy fire. The BG music and sound effects are lovely, especially the sound of shooting which I especially like. It certainly fits the game’s atmosphere and mood.

Conclusion

Shooty Skies, lives up to the expectations as Crossy Road’s sibling and hardly disappoints. It is very friendly and respectful to the player with no IAP traps or other schemes, and definitely justifies its freemium status. As an endless arcade Shooty Skies is among the top best and there’s hardly anything to dislike except maybe the difficulty bar that is raised a lot as you advance. In my own humble opinion you should give it try regardless if you’ve played Crossy Road before or not. Shooty Skies is its own thing and is definitely worth giving a try. Let us know your thoughts about it in the comments below!

Download Shooty Skies for iOS devices here.

The Android version of Shooty Skies is in the works according to the developers.

Shootie Skies screenshots above, gameplay below