Aerial_Knight’s DropShot Review (Xbox Series X|S & PC)

Aerial_Knight’s DropShot should be an exhilarating experience, especially when you consider the fact that it forces you to travel at breakneck speeds whilst barreling through the clouds. And the addition of finger guns, well, that’s just the icing on the cake. The problem is, after so many descents and one too many invisible pellets, that same fleeting sensation sadly becomes a little dull and repetitive. The thrill that ties in with aimlessly jackknifing through the air with two fingers and a clenched fist begins to fade, and the joke just sort of, I don’t know, falls flat.

On paper, DropShot sounds like a childhood fantasy—a silly yet annoyingly entertaining fever dream etched onto a slate of velocity and bullets, explosions and sickeningly stylish POW! BAM! WHACK! executions. You want to love it. You feel that inner child bolting around in joy at the mere thought of ejecting an elite marksman out of an airplane and spreading imaginary bullets at the bad guys. The acrobatics and slick moves are just the seasoning on a perfectly apt tapestry of make-believe shenanigans. And of course, the dragons and the ultraviolet skins which, to be honest, just add an additional layer to an utterly bonkers fantasy.

If you’re on the lookout for an engrossing storyline with all sorts of vertical twists and turns, then you might want to unleash another childhood dream on the canvas. DropShot, in short, doesn’t leave a great deal to the imagination. Instead, it opts for the classic good-versus-evil approach—an idea that translates into a ridiculous radioactive-like episodic action flick that involves a dragon bite, a fleeting sensation of aerial rage, and a special ability that allows fingers to flaunt bullets. And, as the so-called Smoke Wallace, it falls to you to carve through sixty-second rounds and, with your two fingers and a clobbered fist, eliminate enemies, dragons, and other floating obstacles before claiming a parachute and moving to the next sequence in the series.

At first, DropShot feels great to play. Like any good action flick, it leaves you with a sense of pride as you slog through the skies, dodge laser beams, and spam your bullets into floating soldiers. But after the fifth, sixth, or seventh inning, that feeling begins to fade, and the novelty soon wears thin. The rounds, although with their own obstacles and enemies, begin to merge into one endless downhill battle, and the act of flailing through the air soon begins to grate on the fingers. And that’s something that I couldn’t shake over the course of DropShot’s journey — that it just wasn’t delivering an exciting experience that was both fun and unpredictable. I’d fling bullets, dodge a laser, and wash my hands to rinse and repeat the same process. Sadly, it never got any better than that.

Thankfully, DropShot is an incredibly easy game to barrel roll into and learn on the fly — literally. With as little as an analog that you can use to strafe, and two triggers that operate both your finger gun and a melee attack, you can quite effectively conquer each session and claim a high rating without having to endure a second attempt. You collect ammo, shoot targets, and soar aimlessly through various obstacles, all whilst working to tackle the frequent dragon or boss battle. It’s a simple loop that is, in all honesty, fodder fit for the casual player. But, again, it doesn’t offer much more than that. It’s a gimmick that you’ll initially laugh at, but then, like all Dad jokes, eventually learn to hate.

With a total of fifty levels to slog through, you should be able to beat DropShot in a little under an hour. As for whether or not you’ll want to stick around after the final chapter in the series is another story. Given that there is little to no incentive for those looking to revisit the same stages a second time (unless you’re vying for a higher grade, that is), there isn’t a reason for you to subject yourself to the same sky-high antics after beating that first wave.

In spite of all its flaws, DropShot is still a stylish game that has some great features and visual effects to offer. It’s definitely a little kooky and far-fetched, and in no way does it hold a candle to a traditional James Bond-like action flick. But, I can give credit where it’s due and say that, as far as quick sixty-second battlers go, it still makes for an an entertaining experience. It’s just a shame that it loses its charm after twenty minutes.

Of course, if you enjoy the idea of clambering up the leaderboards and knuckling in on high grades, then you might be able to scrape enough joy out of this sixty-second affair. That being said, if you crave an action-packed experience that boasts longevity and evergreen charm, then you should consider pointing your fingers at an alternate flight.

Verdict

Aerial_Knight’s DropShot makes for a good bullet-wrangling sixty-second experience, but not so much a whirlwind epic with the longevity and the depth to span an entire flight path through the far reaches of space. It scratches an itch, but only for a handful of minutes before the act of descending into the fray begins to take its toll and the novelty becomes a slog. And it’s a shame, really, as the concept itself is great. But it’s the lack of creativity in the level designs, and the simple fact that it fails to produce an exhilarating experience after the initial batch of sequences, that makes it difficult to recommend.

While I wouldn’t put DropShot down as a dull game, I will say that, as far as aerial first-person shooters go, it should be a lot more exciting than it is. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea behind it, and I appreciate the effort the developer has put in to breathe life into a childish fantasy that, frankly, probably shouldn’t work. Still, I can’t help but call DropShot out for what it truly is: a gimmick with a painfully short shelf life. It’s good for a quick giggle, but that’s about it.