Game Review #389: Redneck Skeet Shooting (Nintendo Switch)

Reviewer: John B Developed By: Mad Gamesmith Published By: Ultimate Games Category: Arcade, Casual Release Date: 07.01.19 Price (At Time of Review): $4.99

Buy Redneck Skeet Shooting from the Nintendo Switch eShop here.

Redneck Skeet Shooting for the Nintendo Switch is pretty much the definition of a casual game. It’s got one simple gameplay mechanic, basic graphics, no story, and the first time I picked it up I played it for over an hour without realizing how much time had passed. It’s not a game that’s lighting the world on fire, it’s not going to be your next obsession, and it’s not a bad time for what it is, but it lacks the robustness I would expect from a console gaming experience, and that makes it a hard game to rate properly on the Switch.

Launch, Aim, Shoot

The setup is pretty simple; Billy the redneck has a weird machine that launches objects into the air, and then he shoots said objects for coins. Where do the coins come from? Not important. You can aim by either holding down the left trigger or hitting up on the left thumbstick; aiming works by Billy steadily raising his gun in an arc. You use the left trigger or A button to fire, and the projectiles fire along a sightline coming from the barrel of the gun. Different objects are worth different coin totals, and items worth more money take more than one bullet to destroy. Occasionally the machine will launch some dynamite; if you shoot the dynamite, it’s an automatic game over, so don’t do that. Some items that shoot from the launcher are glowing gold; destroying these items adds more time to the level (each level starts with sixty seconds on the clock).

Cash for Clunkers

Between rounds, you can return to the main menu where you can spend your coins on new guns, new levels, or new outfits for Billy. The main game only comes with five levels, five guns, and two outfits, and one of each is unlocked by default. New guns do more damage, which means you can destroy high-value items in fewer shots. New levels introduce new items to shoot, which are generally worth more coins than previous levels. The outfits are pretty much just cosmetic. The game says there are more outfits, guns, and levels coming, so maybe DLC will add some more replayability, but as it sits, once you unlock everything there really isn’t much else to do.

Redneck Chic

Graphically, Redneck Skeet Shooting reminds me of old Flash games I used to play on Newgrounds when I wasn’t paying attention to what was going on in class in high school. The cartoony aesthetic is attractive enough to keep things from being too visually boring, but there isn’t a lot of motion or action going on. Everything just looks pretty basic; it’s not going to blow anyone away, but it’s not ugly, either. The music is a loop of twangy, country rock tracks that don’t really stick out as particularly memorable, but they aren’t annoying or obnoxious, so they don’t negatively impact the game.

Disappearing Into the Swamp

Redneck Skeet Shooting is a casual game; it started out as a mobile game and got ported to the Switch. I have a hard time grading games like that, since they were probably never meant to be compared to the kinds of gaming experience a full console release generally has to offer. It’s a game you’re supposed to play on your phone for a few minutes while you’re waiting in line at the bank, and that doesn’t fit in neatly alongside experiences like Breath of the Wild or Skyrim. I can say that I played it for a few hours and found it amusing enough; I don’t know that I’ll ever play it again on the Switch, but if I had it on my phone I might boot it up and shoot a few old boots and beer bottles when I had a few minutes to kill and not enough data left to check out my Twitter feed. But as a Switch release, I can’t really recommend it too highly.