The consumable ruin the combat, they are unlimited, it is basically impossible to die late game. The level design is to often generic, not nearly good enough, same thing for the exploration, not rewarding at all, you can only find squid hearts (which are usefull) and gold that is only usefull at the start. The magic dances don't work that well as a mechanic, you want to spam them to see if there are hidden treasures but it cost mana, and you want to keep that mana to cure and interact with things. That being said, Shantae is still full of it's charm, the art, the funny and lovable writing, the good hit feedback during combat; also platoforming is not bad, maybe not great but neither bad at all. Maybe playing on extrahard mode, that you unlock at the end, is a better experience overall.

Any time this indie darling returns is always a welcome one! The return to the Metroidvania gameplay with the polished Half Genie Hero sprite style is always welcome! The game has a lot of what made classic Shantae games great while adding in new features, like the transformations instantly activating. The bosses are for the most part, solid, and the mechanics of the game work well together. While the story is nothing to write home about, the characters are all as vibrant as ever! The way Shantae handles still isn't my favorite, but I have definitely gotten used to it from Half Genie Hero. I also didn't really like the map that much, since a lot of the game takes place underground, so many sections felt a lot more environmentally tedious than previous entries. You can sort of tell that this game was developed with Apple Arcade users in mind, since they definitely watered down the difficulty and reactive platforming that previous titles had, but the game was an overall pleasant experience.

Story 5/10: Really disappointing, definitely after how amazing Pirate's Curse's story was. in this game it just served as a vehicle to move you to each area, not to mention the inconsistent character writing in some places. Visuals 7/10: Re-uses assets from Half-Genie Hero while adding new character art that clashes with Half Genie hero's style, I would have loved a new artstyle for this game, so I can't help but be sort of disappointed Music 7/10: Very similar to Half Genie hero, which I mean, is a banger, but I would have liked more variety Gameplay 6/10: Has many QoL upgrades, movement options are tied to buttons instead of the dance menu (like in how it was done in Pirates' Curse) which speeds up exploration, but the game is so piss easy on the latter half that I brute forced the last 3 big bosses by stocking up on 50 gem auto potions that auto heal you when you die and still had the max amount of gems at the end of it. Overall 6/10: Really mediocre in comparison to half genie hero and Pirates' Curse, 7 Sirens felt like an expansion DLC to Half Genie Hero with it's reused assets, unimportant story and its lack of unique style. I'd recommend this to Shantae fans who want more Shantae, but if you want an entry into the series, I'd recommend Pirates Curse or Half Genie Hero. I bought this game on release but quickly dropped it a few hours in, now, 4 years later, and I can't help but think that 2020 me kinda wasted his money, this game is 100% something you should only buy when it's on sale.