Who would have guessed that a spring season Steam sale would lead to me finding two terrific indies? Quite high, honestly, because of my extensive backlog and wish list, but nonetheless I am here to recommend two glowing examples of platformer-adjacent shooter-adjacent games.

“Shotgun Cop Man” is the closest thing to a “Super Meat Boy” I’ve ever played, and “Star of Providence” is the bullet hell shoot ’em up starring a spaceship that really reminds me of “The Binding of Isaac.” Both are very worth paying for and playing.

I Call ‘Shotgun’

First up, “Shotgun Cop Man” is a hilarious short little game about the titular hero cop… man, who tries to hunt down Satan and arrest him for his crimes against humanity. Every one of the nine acts, a set of several levels revolving around a central new gameplay idea, begins with the Devil proclaiming “Fuck you, Shotgun Cop Man!” before being flown away by flying demons. Sort of like Dr. Fetus in “Super Meat Boy!”

The similarities are glaring, but in the best way. The art style you can clock from a room away, the tongue-in-cheek nature to the mix of violence and comedy, the good soundtrack, the addicting “one more run” nature to the fast paced levels, and the way each act introduces a new twist on things. You have two guns, one always a shotgun that is 95% of the time primarily used to launch yourself into the air or a different direction, and then a revolving catalog of different guns to shoot demons or levitate in the air.

The entire game is about movement, aiming, precision, balancing risk/reward, and twitch reflexes. Your main goal is to get to the end, but it might also contain doing it quickly, killing everything, and/or not being hit once.

It just clicks from the first level, and is a joy to blitz through in a few hours. It’s a perfect lil’ game and I love it.

Superstar

The other game I’ve been playing, but haven’t quite scratched the surface of, is “Star of Providence.” Perhaps best known for being the second of Videogamedunkey’s published indies, this is a 2D game where you go from room to room, fight a boss, go deeper onto another floor, and do it again. Just like “The Binding of Isaac!”

And like that game, which is my pick for greatest roguelike ever made, “Star of Providence” has its share of hidden walls you need to bomb, shops to buy upgrades or weapons or health, pick-ups, minibosses, and a map you pop up when needed. But unlike “BOI,” which takes its combat more from “The Legend of Zelda,” this is “R-Type” and “Gradius.” You’re a ship and you gotta spray and prey to win. Or in many cases spray and pray, because this can be hard as nails. But in a fun way.

This is a fast-paced game that favors dodging enemy projectiles more than hitting your shots. Staying alive, like “BOI,” is a priority over killing everything as fast as possible. On the surface, this could seem like just another bullet hell twin stick shooter. But it gets deeper than that, and has enough new enemies, items, choices, and bosses to make it worth the countless reruns and playthroughs.

I can easily see myself sinking a hell of a lot of hours into this one until I hit a wall and inevitably can’t cross it because the better guns and extra laser beams aren’t nearly as broken as “BOI” ones can be. But maybe I’ll find more secrets and unlock more upgrades that will make the road less treacherous. Who knows?

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Image Credit: “Shotgun Cop Man”