When it comes to indie games you truly get a full spectrum in terms of quality. There’s no question that there are some top-tier experiences to be found, all the way down to what could likely be called shovelware, and plenty in between. On the lower end of the curve, the problems can include serious technical issues or ideas that never come together, but then there are others that on paper understand the assignment but just fail to deliver any fun. That’s where I’ve landed with Jetpack Kiwi, which does check many of the boxes for making a side-scrolling arcade shooter, but the gameplay simply feels like you’re going through the motions.

Starting out you’ll simply select your bird (you’ll start with 3 options but then can unlock others), and then you’re quickly off to start shooting. In terms of weapon power-ups, while many games will make you choose a specific style, switching your weapons out when you pick up something different, here they’ll at least slowly stack, making you more powerful as you can add on a laser, missile, and other upgrades. While many in the genre would have you knock out a tougher or differently-colored enemy to get your power-ups, here there’ll just be a periodic box in the air you’ll shoot, making even something this simple a bit more bland in the process. 

In terms of the problems there’s no particular single culprit to blame, the issue is that as a whole the gameplay is just bland. The action is pretty slow, the on-screen enemies and bullets can even be sparse at times, and even the boss battles just don’t have the oomph behind them to inspire excitement. Granted, a huge part of the problem is that the system is simply stacked with both classic and modern shooters of all sorts that absolutely leave this in the dust, but even without substantial competition this would likely feel like a bit of a snooze fest. It isn’t necessarily bad, but it absolutely wouldn’t be mistaken for being good.