In my first attempt to review every single game on my 100-something top games list, I'm generally going to keep the early reviews short because I simply don't remember them extremely well.

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet was one of my first forays into indie Metroidvanias, and it's definitely a "style over substance" example of the genre. The art style is gorgeous, the ambiance is incredible, and instead of platforming it's a flying elegantly through bleak caverns and mazes. The boss battles are beautifully animated. My big grievance with the game is that the actual combat feels weak, like you're firing a pea shooter at these large monstrosities; the feedback is lacking. And also generally said, the actual game does a lot and doesn't do much of it exceedingly well. It's sufficient, merely competent at what it does without excelling and any real exciting way outside of the art direction and uniqueness of the exploration and gameplay.

That being said, it's still good fun and a nice bite-sized adventure in the genre without overstaying its welcome. It's not fantastic by any means, but it holds a special place in my heart for being one of the first real indie games I latched onto.