Flutter Bombs Review

"Charming, but Deadly"

Campaign

April 22, 2019 at 3:29am

This is a rather interesting title, it’s certainly something that’s different. Flutter Bombs is a twin stick shooter where you play as a butterfly, while battling things in the garden. It’s not just based on a garden as to say, but some overgrowth areas and that mostly just paints a picture of what to expect in this game. The experience is split into three core areas.

You have the campaign, a survival mode and a boss rush mode. I was slightly disappointed in the access of these extra modes as you’ll need to work through the campaign in order to play them. I like to have a quickplay option sometimes, especially when it comes to survival. I also feel that there was a missed opportunity for perhaps some local competitive multiplayer. The game features the option to play in four player local coop, but that’s a team effort in this one. The levels are structured similarly, you’ll fly in and blast away enemies for some time.

Once things have progressed, you’ll then go on to face a boss. Luckily, there’s a checkpoint system involved so that it’s easier to deal with these bosses. Having to replay a whole level would have felt tedious, so I’m glad that the option is present here. Each of the region is distinct, and you’ll face off against unique threats. These dangers are either creature, or environmental based as traps are present within the various levels.

Gameplay

Flutter Bombs is a different kind of twin stick shooter, you actually have to manage your weapon inventory in this one. This is in regards to keeping your sort of shoot stamina bar up. There are certain nectar plants littered throughout the levels and these are how you’ll be able to keep firing. It can be dangerous to balance combat and collecting them, a layer of difficulty. You do evolve over time by collecting upgrades after reaching certain marks, it makes your attack strength grow by a ton.

It’s also worth mentioning that the entire experience shifts once the boss comes into the frame. You’ll go into a new battle type of arena, it’s neat. Each level has a distinct environmental look and style to it. Some have traps, some are tighter and it’s a nice mix-up. You’re never sure what to expect, aside from a small preview on the overall world map you view prior to playing each time in the campaign. There are a variety of enemies present, some on the ground and most in the air. These are natural critters and its fun to battle them.

While the worlds are distinct, I did find them to be a bit messy at times. I say that in regards to how cluttered the environment felt, which was distracting occasionally. By design this is a single player type of setup, but it can be fun working together as a team of butterflies. I should also mention that extra butterfly wing types are present, you’ll unlock them over time as you continue to play and become victorious.

The Conclusion

Flutter Bombs delivers an intense, and perhaps challenging twin stick shooter experience from a unique perspective. The general concept of this title is rather intriguing and it can be fun to play. I did wish that there was more content to it, but you should have a fine time working through what’s present.

The extra modes are a nice bonus, but I felt they could have done more with it. They could have also made the survival generally open to explore, or a little bit more dynamic. It was nice to have the coop options present, but for the most part I enjoyed it fine by myself. It’s definitely a different sort of twin stick shooter and I think that works well for the most part.

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Flutter Bombs Review on Xbox One X
Review Code Provided by ID@Xbox

Rating Overall: 6.5