Mr Shifty: Teleports Behind You

This past Labor Day weekend I thought that I would spend some time playing some games that weren't Hotline Miami, so imagine my surprise when I ended up playing a game that plays very similarly to Hotline Miami. The comparison isn't entirely fair, because there's actually a good deal that separates Mr Shifty from Hotline Miami. From its humorous, tongue-in-cheek story to the evasion-based gameplay, Mr Shifty is a fun-filled and challenging romp through hordes of mercenaries for its relatively short runtime.

Nyx's commentary can be a bit hit or miss, but she's largely enjoyable with her groan-worthy puns.

Similar to other games of this genre, the story of Mr Shifty is there, but it's not developed any more than it has to be. The standout in this regard is the game's lighter tone compared to the general gritty dark tone of much of the genre. You play Mr Shifty, an agent of some sort of future INTERPOL, who's trying to infiltrate the comically evil Chairman Stone's skyscraper to arrest him while being aided by his over-enthusiastic partner Nyx. The story seems straightforward at first, just keep going further up the tower, but you're captured at some point and have to escape prison, but then it's back to scaling the tower. Each of the three recurring characters are pretty entertaining, but Stone was the highlight for me, with his over-the-top cartoonish menace and dramatic threats. You do eventually complete your mission, but there isn't any sort of takeaway message to be gleaned, and I like that, it's a nice change of pace. It's innocent, action-oriented fun, and that's it.

Chairman Stone was my highlight of this game, every time his portrait popped up, you know that you're in for a villain line that's lovably cheesy.

Gameplay is where the meat of Mr. Shifty lies, and it's really good. Like in Hotline Miami, you only have a single hitpoint, but in this you're limited to melee weapons and your old fashioned fists. Enemies also aren't pushovers, needing two to three punches to knock out, but only one with melee weapons and throwables (which break after one to four uses). They also come in large numbers, so how do you triumph when the odds are stacked against you? The answer is through your ability to teleport short distances, which allows you to dodge and weave through enemies, allowing you to trick them into shooting each other and to teleport through walls. It's impossible to understate how fun it is to trick the enemies to kill each other, but have no fear, they're still extremely capable and quick on the draw, so there is a little bit of luck involved. You can easily overextend, which can be frustrating, but like in similar games patience and persistence will win the day. The environments are also highly destructive, allowing you to break down walls to create new paths with your fists or enemy attacks (or their bodies being flung by the force of your fists). There's also a bunch of door play here as well, but in keeping with the theme of similar-yet-different you don't swing open doors, you literally punch them off their hinges at enemies to knock them out (never gets old). Every level is also well-paced in terms of difficulty, with each introducing a new color-coded and different-looking enemy and occasionally a new gimmick as well (such as enemies being teleported in). The learning curve is actually pretty gentle, and I genuinely enjoyed the increasing challenge, though the massive majority of my deaths came from the basic machine gun goons. The gameplay may be fast and furious, and occasionally frustrating, but it's also just a good deal of fun to play and experiment with throughout its four-hour runtime.

The final rooms on every level are always a challenge, and it's nice to wander through the chaos after you clear the level.

In terms of visual and audio appeal, Mr Shifty was something of a mixed experience for me. I really liked the cartoonish visuals and character portraits. The bloodless battlefields were a nice change from the carnage of Hotline Miami and similar games. The bullettime mode (which activates when your meter is full and a bullet comes near you) and the 'you died' screens allowed for me to see just how wacky the aftermath of my defeat could be, with my body flying across the room from an explosion. The music though, eh, it wasn't all that good. Apart from the level clear music and the elevator music (both of which bring a feeling of accomplishment on top of amusement), there was basically a single combat track. The first five levels were fine, but by the final (18th) level I wasn't having it anymore so I turned it off. It's by no means bad, but even "Stairway to Heaven" is annoying after hearing it thirty times in a row. That's really my sole gripe with the game, the repetitive music. Never thought I'd say that in my lifetime.  

There are elements of puzzle-solving/platforming in Mr Shifty, but fortunately it's pretty simple, relying often on just your punching or teleportation ability.

Mr. Shifty was a bunch of fun, and while the frustration of the final level did wear on me a bit, I still whole-heartedly enjoyed playing this teleportation-filled game. Clocking in at about four hours, but could be completed in under an hour and nineteen minutes, Mr Shifty would make for a great afternoon of excitement. However, due to the linear nature of the game, the fun would likely be limited to that afternoon, unless speedrunning is your style. I started Mr Shifty with a groan, but closed it with a smile, realizing that it's not just another Hotline Miami imitator, but its own thing.