Shantae: Costume Pack DLC

I'm pretty sure we all bought this DLC for officer mode only. If you ask me, I think they should've have just stopped there.

You get three play styles with this DLC. Police mode which you have to use your police siren to navigate through a puzzle of shifting blocks, ninja mode where you can use stealth and shurikens. then beach mode where Shantae just runs around in a bikini and collects sunscreen. In my opinion they were all fun except for beach mode. It forces you to apply sun screen on Shantae every 10 seconds or so which gets really annoying. All in all it is the only Shantae DLC i rated as good. 6/10

The Shantae: Costume Pack offers 4 unique arcade playstyles that come in the form of different costumes Shantae wears. Each mode offers a slightly different story, from Shantae training to be a ninja, to trying to find the perfect spot to get a tan, to a weird crossover with Mighty Switch Force, to a more traditional platformer except Shantae's attack power is doubled. Honestly, the only mode I don't care for is beach mode, as it's not anywhere as interesting as the challenges provided by the other 3 modes. Unfortunately, WayForward stuck with the 3 heart run stipulation from Friends to the End, but I don't necessarily mind this as much because I'm playing as Shantae and not having to stress about sharing a health bar with 3 different party members who don't have the same fighting power as Shantae or Risky. Plus, these modes don't take themselves too seriously, which just adds to their overall charm. You can tell Shantae really was enjoying herself throughout these modes, and that really just makes these modes a lot more fun than any other mode in Half Genie Hero, which is kind of sad considering that all they are are just side modes and have nothing to do with the main campaign. I would play these modes over Friends to the End any day.

this DLC is great, personally I think the Officer costume with switch mode is the best. it was the most creative making players think about every move more carefully and it is really funny to crush monsters with the blocks. switch mode also had new music for a lot of the levels which was a huge bonus motivating me to play even more. and as expected the story is well written and very funny. the timer for beach mode really is terrible though and I have not bothered getting through the first stage in that mode yet simply cause I don't want to work on a timed mode like that yet. ninja mode is like a super hardcore mode, everything feels more difficult since you only have two attacks and ninja vanish is hard to control. but all 3 of these game modes for $7.99 is certainly worth it. just do switch mode first if you want challenging puzzles, funny stories, and new music.

This is a really fun DLC! You get three modes, Beach mode Ninja Mode and Officer mode Each one re-treads the levels you know, but with al new obstacles and cutscenes. And of course, Shantae is equal parts sexy and adorable in every outfit. Beach is fun, but difficult as you need to keep collecting sunscreen , or you take damage fast. Your main weapons are your hair whip, and a beach ball ranged attack You can also form a floating bubble to travel upwards and across gaps. Ninja mode strips Shantae of her hair whip, and replaces it with a ninja sword. You also get throwing stars as a rnaged attack - and a ninja teleport. ( also you can wall jump ) The third mode ( and my personal favorite ) is officer mode - you can't duck, you can't swim, you can't dance. But you have a gun ( which powers up as you collect gems - same as the other costumes' ranged weps ) And a "siren helmet " which causes blocks to become solid , or transparent ( the majority of the levels use these as puzzles ) the neat thing is when you hit a block by accident when you're in front of it - Shantae gets smushed into the screen. lol. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1358148089 Pretty enjoyable overall, if you're a fan of Shantae, you're gonna want to add this little gem to your DLC collection ;3

it's certainly interesting, but it just doesn't feel like Shantae. part of the fun of this game was it's metroidvania style gameplay. you just don't find that here. you have the same abilities through the whole game. It's also so much harder because in all of these, you can't stop somewhere and just get items. there's no where to just heal. If you get into a boss fight with half a heart and you want to get more health, you have to restart the whole campaign and just not suck this time. if it's on sale, maybe consider it.

The additional modes don't really make for that fun of an experience. You'll play through the same stages and boss battles but with different abilities depending on which costume you use. Out of all the outfits the Mighty Switch Force one is the best since it mixes up some of the levels with block switching platforming and puzzles. The other outfits give you abilities that enhance your movement, but not in ways that work with the level design. The only reason you'd want to get this pack is if you want to get 100% of the achievements.

A collection of increasingly frustrating game modes make for a sour experience that feels unfair and unrewarding. The leveling system shared on all three modes is counterintuitive to the genre this game belongs to, making the player go back to a sub-optimal status if they make a single mistake. Poorly refined mechanics trivialize some levels and make others insufferable. Get this on a discount or if you're a completionist and really want those achievements.

Three frustrating, needlessly brutal game modes all for one low price! On a more honest note, I found the Officer and Ninja modes to be okay, just okay. The former, although creative with its switching blocks, failed to keep my interest with the lack of inventive puzzles on offer, and lacking the mind-boggling red and blue switching blocks I sincerely liked in the original Mighty Switch Force, but at least it was playable. Ninja mode, again, wasn't all that groundbreaking. I got to play with a few new toys, yet in the same linear levels in the exact same order. I skipped past most of the dialogue, never truly feeling the need to catch up with whatever typical exposition of whatever side plot is occuring. And as for the beach mode, it's frankly not worth the bother. Hollow fanservice does not justify the unreasonable spike in difficulty, or whatever reason they felt like for having the player constantly burdened with a timer that mercilessly trickles down what little health you have, and with what little health you can actually restore. Sorry, but this mode soiled it for me. It's inexcusable.

Disclaimer: I don't hate this DLC, but I'm giving it my disapproval because I don't want WayForward to make more content like this in the future. Each of the new game modes are just the levels you played in the main game with only a few modifications to match Shantae's new moves. This means that you'll breeze through some levels and find yourself cursing the developers and the people who gave birth to them in others. Beach mode is the worst because your health will start to deplete if you don't collect bottles of sunscreen fast enough. Shantae is basically a vampire now since she can't stay outside that long, even when she's indoors (for some reason). This makes certain levels and boss fights a lot harder, [spoiler] especially the Dual Baron fight. [/spoiler] It's worth noting that even the developers have admitted that the sunscreen feature is a bit convoluted. Anyway, the whole package is kind of disappointing considering what was promised to us back during the Kickstarter campaign. That being said, I can't bring myself to completely hate this DLC. It [i] is [/i] incredibly satisfying when I finish a hard level or earn an achievement. The dialogue is charming, even when it is a little awkward [spoiler] like the ending of Ninja Mode. Just. Why. [/spoiler] Maybe it's just hard for me to hate anything Shantae in general. You're not going to find any new story content or lore or anything. If you like hard challenges or just want the achievements then buy this on sale. I got it 50% off and I think that's plenty.