Minishoot’ Adventures Switch 2 review

Minishoot’ Adventures was one of the best surprises of 2024, taking a simple but intriguing idea—a mash-up of Zelda-like exploration and bullet hell twin-stick shooter—and delivering it brilliantly. A shadow drop on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 last month was perhaps an even bigger and better surprise, given how well this sort of game suits handheld play. A smooth transition to Nintendo makes this a must-play for any Switch Zelda and/or shoot-’em-up fans.

The basic concept is a top-down action adventure game with a focus on exploration and clearing puzzle-filled dungeons, with the gradual discovery of new tools allowing you to access new areas and complete puzzles that you couldn’t before. It’s a clear and obvious homage to early 2D Zelda games (the original NES game, A Link to the Past, and the like), with an intentionally similar approach to map design and dungeons. There’s an overworld that isn’t huge but is cleverly conceived in terms of how the different areas connect to one another, dotted with self-contained dungeons and other points of interest. Tools you find along the way let you break boulders, cross gaps, light torches, and so on. Sound familiar?

The difference is that instead of a young elf (?) with a sword and shield, you’re a sentient spaceship with a little pew-pew energy cannon, and rather than bokoblins and octoroks, the enemies getting in your way are other spaceships. Spaceships that like to shoot large, dense, mesmerising patterns of bullets that make weaving through the gaps a puzzle in itself—you know, the kind of thing that you’d more likely see in an arcade shoot-’em-up.

It’s a mash-up that works wonderfully, in large part because of how cleverly those two influences are woven together. This isn’t just a Zelda clone with some shoot-’em-up bits; the enemies, bullet patterns, and shooting mechanics form the backbone of Minishoot’ Adventures’ level and puzzle design. Environmental puzzles abound in this game’s dungeons, as is typical of action adventure games, but most of the obstacles you need to work around are enemies that you can’t kill yet for one reason or another.

The upgrades that help you explore are also upgrades to your shooting capabilities: stronger shots that deal more damage and can also destroy boulders; an energy blast that destroys all bullets on screen (like a staple shoot-’em-up bomb); a dash that lets you jump over gaps and also helps with positioning your ship to misdirect enemy shots. Conceptually simple, certainly, but the way the pieces fit together is fantastic.

Boss fights kick the shooting action up a few notches, with multi-stage encounters designed around elaborate attack patterns. Minishoot’s bosses stick close to shoot-’em-up staples, with a focus on complex attacks that test your pattern recognition and ability to make decisive, precise movements. At the same time, the boss fights still manage to incorporate some of the more puzzle-oriented design of Zelda’s foes, with phases that are more about creating openings to attack weak points (as opposed to the more consistent shoot-and-dodge style of typical shoot-’em-up bosses). 

Minishoot’ Adventures builds on that strong foundation with some light-touch but smartly implemented RPG systems. There’s a basic levelling system to improve your ship’s basic stats, with the nice benefit of being able to freely redistribute points at any time—which comes in handy when different encounters prioritise different skills. A handful of different quests involving your ship’s rescued friends provide a steady stream of small-scale goals, minor but helpful upgrades, and a welcome change of pace from the overarching objective of finding and clearing out dungeons.

It’s worth noting that Minishoot’ Adventures is a small game by a small team, and there’s a clear design focus on quality over quantity. The map is comparatively small, and you can play through the whole game in a few hours, playstyle depending. This isn’t a criticism at all—the developers have prioritised focus over scale to great effect, with no aspect of the game feeling unnecessary or overstaying its welcome. It’s a design philosophy I’d love to see more of, frankly, but it’s worth setting expectations if you’re looking for something bigger.

As far as the Switch 2 port goes, there’s nothing new or different here compared to the PC release from a few years ago. That said, this version takes the cake simply from the Switch 2 handheld form factor—it’s a perfect setup for a game like this. The screen is just the right size to give good visibility while also letting the detail in the artwork shine, and the handheld form suits the pick-up-and-play nature of a twin-stick shooter wonderfully. 

Minishoot’ Adventures was one of the best surprises of the last few years: a near-perfect mashup of bullet hell and Zelda-style adventure that fuses though two influences together beautifully. The only thing missing from the original PC release—for those of us without a Steam Deck—was the convenience and comfort of playing on a handheld. A Switch 2 (and Switch) release fixes that, and with last month’s shadow drop, the best surprise of 2024 becomes an even better surprise in 2026.