Falling with Style
Aerial_Knight’s DropShot is the latest from solo game developer Neil Jones whose previous games I have reviewed.
I played the first, Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield, way back in 2021 and had a great time with its arcade look and feel. The stylish visuals in DropShot will be instantly recognisable to those who have played Aerial_Knight’s games, so what makes this game different?
Finger Guns and Free-Falls
Well, it’s essentially a shooter which tasks you with picking off baddies mid-air as you free fall towards the ground. The premise is an interesting one, and is the perfect structure for short, sharp bursts of action. There’s a bit of preamble to set the scene which didn’t make an awful lot of sense to me (but it looked cool enough), and then you’re thrown into things; quite literally as it turns out.
You can use the thumbsticks to direct your fall, as well as shoot enemies or punch them if you get close enough. In terms of the direct control you have as the player, that’s all there is to it really. If opting for close quarters combat be careful because if you take damage twice, or smash into something big like a floating rock, you’re out.
In Aerial_Knight’s DropShot you’ll need to constantly be on the look out for ammo refills because running out will sink any hopes you have of bagging those high scores and top ranks. Explosive barrels are useful in taking out multiple enemies at once, just don’t get too close to the blast zone. There’s coins to collect too, but these have no practical benefit as far as I could tell.
Mysterious eggs will also pop up from time to time, and shooting these will activate your special weapon such as firing rubber ducks or a powerful skull laser. Different styles of shades will be unlocked as you progress, and swapping between these will affect the weapons you can access during each level.
Aerial Battles and Vertical Races
There are 50 stages to play through in total, which are unlocked in groups of five at a time. The final level in each batch is a boss battle in which you’ll need to shoot down a dragon (or tank which inexplicably flies like a dragon) or take on your rival in a race to be the first to reach a mysterious egg. Interestingly you can head straight to each boss battle first, but you’ll need to earn a rank on all levels before you can unlock the next set. Shooting stuff has its place, but the longer races were actually some of the most enjoyable parts of Aerial_Knight’s DropShot for me.
When enemies are in range you are notified via a red exclamation mark and accompanying noise. However, spotting and then hitting enemies can be tough (especially when they engage evasive manoeuvres). If you head to the settings and dial down the sensitivity from the default of High, to Medium, I found this helped.
Despite this I often finished a stage with one or more enemies way ahead of me and out of range, unsure of when they zoomed ahead of me. It’s for this reason it would be beneficial to have more free control over how fast you fall in Aerial_Knight’s DropShot.
You can pass through booster tubes which are fun and speed things up, but I often avoided them as I would then fly right past enemies, losing my chance to take them down and achieve the higher ranks. You can turn behind to a degree as well, but the ability to flip into a position similar to that of the loading screen would have been welcome and allowed a 180 degree turn, meaning you could pick off baddies you have whizzed past.
Chasing S+++ Ranks
As a result getting the S+++ rank on each stage is no easy task. But from what I could decipher, focusing on taking out all enemies normally gets you there. Personally, chasing the highest rank in each level was not something I felt compelled to do.
This was because there are plenty of stages in Aerial_Knight’s DropShot, but not necessarily enough variety to keep things fresh. You start moving upwards in later levels, but this causes more problems and makes enemies more difficult to hit, meaning you’ll likely choose to simply dodge them as they zip past. This is also the case with the dragons, and annoyingly the range of their fireballs is far superior to your finger gun.
After a while the levels become somewhat repetitive and in fairness they do get a little more challenging, but there’s no noticeable difficulty curve. Endless mode is unlocked after you clear the game, but 50 levels is more than enough for you to feel you have seen everything that Aerial_Knight’s DropShot has to offer.
A Stylish Descent with a Short Tail
As mentioned at the top, Aerial_Knight’s DropShot is bold, colourful and oozes style. I’m also a big fan of the soundtrack, which really kicks up a gear as you reach the final ten levels. It builds to what sounds like an epic conclusion, even if the gameplay itself doesn’t quite mirror the same arc. everything the game has to offer.
There’s no multiplayer which I feel is a missed opportunity, as even some split screen racing or party style mini games would have been fun. As it is, Aerial_Knight’s DropShot feels like a pretty expensive game if you wish to purchase it.
Aerial_Knight’s DropShot is built around a strong concept which is fun to play for a time, but it doesn’t quite get its hooks deep enough to qualify as addictive.
Important Links
Aerial_Knight’s DropShot Sends You Plummeting Into Stylish Mid-Air Game Pass Action – https://www.thexboxhub.com/aerial_knights-dropshot-sends-you-plummeting-into-stylish-mid-air-game-pass-action/
Download via the Xbox Store, through Game Pass if you wish – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/aerial_knights-dropshot/9p59j86ghdgl
