Can Cotton and Silk prevail?
Cotton Fantasy is a brand-new entry in the Cotton series that sees Cotton and Silk embark on another adventure, this time in HD graphics and with modernised gameplay, but true to its roots! Something sinister is in the making – the willows are vanishing from Fairyland and the Fairy Queen entrusts Silk with solving the case. Who could be behind this devious ploy? For a promised lifetime all-you-can-eat supply of tasty willows, the little witch Nata de Cotton is willing to help her old friend out and embark on another adventure together, to save the Fairyland.
You don’t really need to know much about past Cotton games when playing this latest entry, but there definitely has to be something special about it since it got Limited Run physical copies for PS4 and Switch.
Having played it from start to finish, it’s an impressive shmup with 2.5D visuals that are charming and the game handles well overall. I’m aware that 2021 had a collection of sorts which had options like save/rewind features and for some reason, this lacks that. It also is single player only, which feels like a missed opportunity. Why couldn’t it be a 2-player game where each handles Cotton and Silk?
That aside, the game itself is solid in its level design and the visuals are impressive overall with cute designs everywhere. The soundtrack is also far greater in quality than I was expecting and definitely not to be underestimated. The game ran at a solid framerate throughout, and I didn’t encounter bugs of any kind.
The Verdict
While lacking save/rewind and co-op play, Cotton Fantasy is still a solid shmup from start to finish. It has impressive visuals; tight controls and it will keep you coming back time and time again.