“DropShot” from Aerial_Knight is a unique take on the frames per second (FPS) genre. We play as Smoke Wallace, a radioactive dragon hunter dropped from planes to beat other hunters to the prize. It’s reminiscent of classic shooters like “Wolfenstein,” but adding in the verticality of freefall reinvents that classic feeling while keeping “DropShot” distinct from modern FPS games. And Smoke’s finger-gun powers are just plain fun.

The stylish cell shading and popping colors and character designs work really well here. It adds to the silly, whimsical vibe that “DropShot” creates with its main character made purple by the same dragon that gave him his magic finger guns. The vibe and aesthetic allow for lots of crazy stuff, including insane powerups throughout the levels that have awesome effects. 

There’s a surprising number of music tracks that accompany the gameplay. Each tune is a funky synth beat that I wouldn’t mind listening to outside of the game. Between the look, feel and sound of the game, this is a cohesive world that I couldn’t help but be drawn into. If only there was something of substance to keep me there. 

When I’m moving and looking around the levels, it feels like I’m trying to force my way through peanut butter or mud or something else that would be hard to get through. I can’t turn around and see enemies behind me; I can only attack the NPCs and obstacles that are in an oddly narrow field of vision. You also just fall slowly, which is annoying when you happen to eliminate your opponents early. 

The entire time I was playing, I kept thinking to myself, “Why isn’t this an online multiplayer game?” Perhaps this indie developer doesn’t have the resources to accomplish that, but it would be phenomenal. Besides that, the game still feels unfinished. There’s not very much meat on the bone. So much could be done here; it feels like this is a demo.

As it stands, I could only be bothered to play “DropShot” in short spurts. Whenever I sat down to play, I got through 5-10 one-minute-long levels before I either got bored at the repetition or frustrated with the sluggish controls. What we have here is a case of style over substance, but it doesn’t need to stay that way. With some more content and fine tuning, “DropShot” could be something really special.