You get to shoot lots of random flying things, and you get to fly swans in Air Twister.
Air Twister is the first Apple Arcade game developed by YS NET, which, for those unfamiliar, is Yu Suzuki’s studio, the director behind the Shenmue games. However, this game is not at all a Shenmue game or anything close to it. So, don’t expect something like that because you will be disappointed unless you dislike Shenmue. In which case, you may like it!
Air Twister is a rail shooter. It’s a rather simple game but one that can be quite great for losing yourself in for a while. You are this princess character who flies around the screen, sometimes on a giant animal for some reason, while you fight off a large array of flying enemies. Why are you on a flying swan sometimes? Why are you a princess? Why are you fighting these things? The game will never explicitly tell you. If you want, you can read a bunch of optional pieces of text that tell you the reason, but they’re not in the game itself, so they’re not necessary for enjoying the game.
This means that this game is not for you if you care about narratives, such as those who enjoy Shenmue. Generally, you jump straight into the gameplay. Sure, there are a bunch of cutscenes that non-verbally tell you that the things you’re fighting are the bad guys. But other than that, there isn’t much to go on and, to be perfectly honest, it doesn’t matter anyway because the narrative presented in those little text extracts amounts to very little of interest. Do not play this if you want a narrative. There is quite a bit of lore there if you go looking, but it isn’t integrated well, so a narrative should not be the reason you play this game.
So, why would you play this then? If you want something to shoot! Air Twister is a very simple game. You have two main functions: you can shoot and you can move. You move to avoid projectiles the enemies sometimes fire, and you evade certain obstacles or boss attacks; for instance, one boss can take swipes at you, and so evading that is rather important. The other thing you do is shoot, and you do that to, you know, destroy the enemies. Air Twister does all this very simply. You tap where you want to shoot and hold where you want to move.
However, Air Twister does not have you shooting off single shots all that often. Instead, you’ll typically have several enemies in a row or some formation, so you swipe the screen through all your enemies so your princess character can target them all and fire off some homing shots. If you tap an enemy, you will hit them. So, Air Twister does not require precision aiming. If you can tap them once, you can hit them!
Other than that, though, there isn’t much to the game. Air Twister is quite barebones. There are some additional modes, such as a boss rush mode, but you’ll mostly just be doing the regular run. And the regular run can be a bit annoying if you were hoping to just make your way through it because every time you die, you have to start from the beginning. So, presumably, they were going for a roguelike-type thing, but there’s no randomized loot or upgrades of that kind, so… it doesn’t really work.
There is, however, a permanent upgrade system that is mostly just for cosmetic and health upgrades. There are the occasional abilities to unlock, but they’re not particularly special in any way. But upgrading your health and having the occasional new ability may get you further through the game. You’re unlikely to finish a run of Air Twister on your first attempt, so if you enjoy repetitively trying something until you get it right, then Air Twister is for you!
If that is not the case, then it is not for you, as Air Twister is repetitious. You will always be doing the same thing and repeating the same actions and fighting the same enemies. Over and over. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if that is your thing!
Lastly, it’s worth mentioning the fact that the game is, for a mobile game, rather pretty. Sure, it doesn’t have the fidelity of high-end PC games, not that anyone expects that, but it looks good for something played on a phone. Air Twister’s visuals are the closest to AAA the mobile market typically gets, so if you want a game that looks pretty good for a mobile device, plays well, and will likely take several hours to finish, give it a go!
However, it is worth it to remember that Air Twister is fine. It’s not a game that will light the world on fire, but it should keep you occupied and be a little more engaging than your average mobile game. It may not have a well-delivered story, but at least it’s an entertaining thing while it lasts.
You can find Air Twister on Apple Arcade and more Apple Arcade reviews on GamesCreed. Also, check our game reviews for our thoughts on the latest games.
