Sometimes a piece of media arrives and reminds you why you fell in love with video games in the first place. It doesn’t need the biggest budget, the most cutting‑edge tech, or rave critical acclaim. It just has to feel right. Like slipping into an old, comfy blanket. Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion is one of those games for me: chaotic, heartfelt, and full of absurd charm.
Premise & Tone
Robots have invaded Earf! Well, technically just “Califlorida,” but semantics is clearly not the priority. The only group that seems to care (or is capable) is F.O.R.K., the Force of Robot Killers. You are codenamed: Shooty, and your tasks include tracking down your delinquent teammates, helping local citizens, doing the chief’s laundry, and above all: SHOOT THOSE STUPID ROBOTS IN THEIR STUPID FACES!
That setup is both ridiculous and irresistible. The narrative doesn’t pretend to be anything other than campy, tongue-in-cheek, and intentionally over-the-top. It’s part boomer‑shooter, part interactive fiction, all wrapped in a coat of Newgrounds‑era irreverence. The result is a tone that constantly teeters on the edge of total nonsense, but more often than not, it lands.
Is It a Boomer Shooter?
Sure, you’ll spend a lot (I mean a lot) of time shooting robots, but Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion feels closer to an immersive sim. Each of its six levels drops you into a world full of oddly chill citizens who hand out weird little tasks. Like hunting for keys, chasing a cat across rooftops, or trying to impress a spoiled kid who’s completely unfazed by the chaos.
There are a multitude of weapons to find. Each level is unique and starts you off with a completely new loadout to discover. So while you only start the first level with a revolver, the next level could start you with an assault rifle. There is no reloading either, and with infinite bullets, any weapon is viable. Shooty also has some mobility options with a quick dodge that is invincible and a double jump that turns into a devastating flying punch.
Each level brings its own set of unique enemies and a heap of boss fights, all of which are memorable. There are secrets tucked into each level, too, including hidden bosses, which can change the narrative . It’s clear this game was made with a lot of love and a lot of chaos.
A Moment That Sums It All Up
I’m in the middle of a pitched firefight. Alarms are blaring. Lasers are bouncing off walls.. Enemies are swarming from every angle. I’m weaving, dodging, returning fire, trying desperately to stay alive. And that’s when my techie decides to call me.
Now, this isn’t a mission-critical update or a tactical heads-up. No. It’s about giraffes. Apparently, she’s fallen down a giraffe-related internet rabbit hole and just has to share her excitement.
I half-read her rambling in the background (something about tongue length and spots?), but I’m too busy trying not to die to focus. That is, until images of giraffes begin popping up on my HUD. Full-resolution photos. Of giraffes. Being distracted, Shooty asks her to take that off-screen.
The techie has lost her mouse cursor, she says, and now she’s dragging the images across my screen, trying to close them, but failing miserably. At one point, she drags a giraffe photo directly over my crosshair, leaving me blind and screaming.
It’s dumb. It’s disruptive. It’s hilarious.
And it’s moments like this that define the game. It’s not just shooting, it’s absurdity layered over absurdity, never letting you forget that this world operates on its own ridiculous logic.
A Hand-Drawn World
Proudly boasting zero generative AI, Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion features entirely hand-drawn characters, environments, weapons, and even the bullets. And it looks fantastic. Not in a hyper-realistic way, but with a chaotic, colorful energy that perfectly complements the game’s tone and cast.
The art style isn’t static either; your team evolves visually as the story progresses. Haircuts change, uniforms get scuffed up or outright replaced, and the world reacts to the events unfolding.
What really caught me off guard, though, was the surprising amount of character growth. Shooty herself goes through a genuine arc, maturing in ways I never expected from a game I initially dismissed as just “that silly robot shooter.” It’s a refreshing surprise to see emotional depth and visual storytelling folded into all the mayhem.
Sound & Music
Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion doesn’t just look good, it sounds great too.
The music is a perfect companion to the chaos. It bounces and bops during exploration and dialogue, bringing a bubbly, Saturday-morning-cartoon energy to the world. But when things kick off, and they do, often, the soundtrack shifts gears with dramatic, high-energy beats that amp up the tension. It’s not a full orchestral score or anything like that, but it knows what kind of game it is, and it delivers exactly the right mood at the right moment.
There’s no voice acting, which honestly works in the game’s favor. Dialogue is all delivered via text, often stylized and color-coded for characters. And while I usually miss voice work in games like this, the sheer volume of nonsense being thrown at you might’ve made it unbearable if someone had to actually read it out loud. It’s weirdly charming in its silence.
Where the sound design really stood out to me was in the sound effects. Explosions and damage hits are crisp, punchy, and properly leveled, never overwhelming, but always satisfying. There’s a distinct cartoonish thump to impacts that makes even minor skirmishes feel chunky and kinetic.
But the real surprise? The guns.
You’d expect a game called Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion to be loud, with deafening levels of bullet spam. But instead, the guns are surprisingly muted. They’ve got this soft, almost plushy quality to them. The more I played, the more I appreciated it.
There’s a lot of shooting in this game (like, a lot), and having those sounds be sharp and aggressive would’ve quickly become grating. Instead, they’re intentionally subtle. Still satisfying, still reactive, but balanced in a way that lets the chaos unfold without turning your ears to mush. It’s one of those quiet (pun intended) touches that shows the devs knew exactly what kind of experience they were crafting.
My Final Thoughts on Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion
Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion isn’t perfect. It has rough edges, bugs, and a runtime that leaves you wishing for more. Sometimes the jokes don’t land, a particular moment happens in the middle where every person is getting a “life before their eyes” moment, and it kinda dragged on. But it also has soul, weirdness, and a bold vision. It reminds you that games can be strange, messy, hilarious, and deeply human all at once.
More than anything, it proves that you don’t need AAA polish to make something memorable; you just need intention. When a game can surprise you, make you laugh, and keep you glued while robot bits fly everywhere, it deserves your respect.
Yes, I’m biased because I love it when people take chances. But this is one of those games I’ll keep recommending, shepherding friends into its weirdness, because games like this deserve to be seen.
Developer: Bubby Darkstar
Publisher: Bubby Darkstar
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