What I love about the indie gaming scene is that some development teams run away with their unique ideas, and they really work. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to choose with so many smaller titles coming week to week, but I may have just found one worth playing. Shoe It All! has just landed on Xbox Series X/S. Developed by Amberbite and published by Bright Gambit, this one consumed me until I had achieved everything the game had to offer. An experience that is all about flicking your shoe off your foot and using it as a projectile; yeah, I did say it was unique.
Gameplay
I get told off for leaving my shoes in random places around the house wherever I flick them off. In Shoe It All!, the premise is very simple: flick your shoe off and hit certain objects in front of you whilst you’re swinging on a park swing. There is no tutorial here, but you don’t really need one since flicking your shoe off is a simple button press. It isn’t that simple, though; you’ll need precision throughout the levels.
Some levels you only need to hit something once, whereas others have several areas you may have to hit. For example, one has you flinging a shoe through the front door of a house, smashing a top window and then into the face of the woman coming to confront you in the garden. The level design is genius, and I found myself wanting to keep playing just to see what the next level did differently. There are even boss fights to contend with, so get practising on that aim. I don’t want to spoil anything else, but there are some cool moments in the later sessions. Achievement hunters will want to pay attention to collecting the 200 stickers on offer, which are granted for hitting specific targets during the levels.
Visuals & Audio
I absolutely adore the art style in Shoe It All! and I dread to think how long it took to design all the levels and match the physics together. The levels have great detail, and the way they interact when the shoe hits certain objects is nothing short of fantastic. Whilst the visuals are simplistic, the screen is always awash with vibrant and interesting colour.
The audio brings high-intensity music to the table, and the sound effects blend in well. Hearing the thud of a shoe against a vending machine or a woman’s head is quite humorous. Overall, a very well-presented package for an indie title without any hiccups on Xbox Series X.
Final Thoughts
Shoe It All! not only entertained me for a lengthy few sessions, but everyone in my household wanted to give it a go. It’s hilariously fun and quite competitive if you do the speed runs after clocking off all the levels. Slightly chaotic, loud, and oddly addictive, I had a great time with it. At £6.99, I thought it was worth that price just for the physics and hand-drawn art style alone. If you fancy swinging a copy onto your Xbox Series X/S, you can grab it HERE.
Overall
-
CX Score - 75%75%
Summary
Pros
- Unique and accessible to gamers of all abilities
- Fantastic hand-drawn art style
- Some great replayability if you want to achieve everything on offer
Cons
- Found myself wanting even more, as it can be finished in a few hours
- Unfortunately, no multiplayer options
- Some may find the gameplay loop repetitive