Minishoot’ Adventures review: a deceptively simple blend of 2D Zelda and shoot ’em up action

Don’t miss it like we did

Image credit:SoulGame Studio

• Developer: SoulGame Studio
• Publisher: SoulGame Studio
• Release: April 2nd, 2024
• On: Windows, MacOS
• From: Steam
• Price: £12.79/€15/$15
• Reviewed on: Intel Core i5-12600K, 32GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti, Windows 10

I’ve been on a journey. About an hour into Minishoot’ Adventures , I was ready to call this straightforward mix of 2D shmup and 2D Zelda mediocre. My mind had been changed long before I beat the final boss, by which point I thought it was good, but I still felt that all the people praising it at the end of 2024 were singing so loudly only because it was good and short and obscure, three things which in combination are easily mistaken for greatness.

Then I pushed past that final boss, mopping up the remainder of the map, and in that last 25% I think I fell in love. Minishoot’ Adventures is straightforward in concept, but its execution is a masterclass of craftsmanship.

Or perhaps that should be just “craftship”. Minishoot’ Adventures has you controlling a small hovercraft, which from the surprising apostrophe in the title (why not “Minishoot’s”?) I assume to be named Minishoot. There’s very little writing in the game to make its story explicit, but this seems to be a universe populated by similar sentient craft with no humans in sight. As you zoom around, you encounter friendly craft who communicate with you via chirrups, spins and sweat, and who come to your HQ to help you, and enemy craft that wish to shoot you. You do not wish to be shot, so you dodge their bullets and fire back.

Let’s start with my doubts. Minishoot’ Adventures is a Metroidvania and to begin with your world map is mostly blank. You can explore the starting area, which on its own contains many caves or dungeons to venture within, but also move beyond the boundaries of your map into several adjacent zones. The result was that I found myself an hour in and completely overwhelmed.

Image credit:SoulGame Studio

I didn’t know where to go. When I died in combat I didn’t know whether to persevere or whether I simply wasn’t levelled enough for the area and should come back later. I also didn’t know where to find the shards that would later fill out my map. I couldn’t keep track of which caves I’d already been in and which I couldn’t, because from the outside they often look similar. The map in the bottom left corner would flash occasionally, and I didn’t know what that meant because, as a mostly wordless game, there’s very little tutorialisation.

Some other players might revel in this sort of mystery, but I am not some other players. I am me and I found it stressful and frustrating. Minishoot’ Adventures is not an information game that teases you with glimpsed potential and, when answers come, they arrive not via your own investigation or experimentation but on a platter as unlocked abilities and characters. This is par for the Metroidvania course, but I feel like other genremates - notably Hollow Knight or Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown - do a better job of signalling to the player: not here, not yet.

Image credit:SoulGame Studio

Ultimately, this moment where I felt lost among the game design was shortlived, and I persevered because there remained fundamental joys even during the anxiety. Zooming around is the most immediate joy of Minishoot, and “zoom” feels like the right verb for the combination of thrilling momentum and direct control. It’s more Geometry Wars than Galak-Z, but there is still some mastery to be eked out from boost and dash moves.

Shooting, too, is easy fun. Your starter weapon is a rapid fire single-bullet machinegun, and the clang and smash of shattering enemies is supremely satisfying. Collect enough of the crystals that enemies drop and you’ll level up, gaining a point that can be invested to make your weapon stronger, your bullets travel faster and further, your craft speedier, and more. You’ll also earn gems by fighting larger enemies that can be spent on upgrading your weapon, turning that single-bullet machinegun into a multishot onslaught that tears through early enemies.

Once I had a foothold in the game - although the game has no feet, technically, and is perhaps entirely limbless - a steady rhythm formed. I’d delve into a cave, each one a simple Zelda-style dungeon, and win a series of fights to reach buttons and keys that allowed further progress in the dungeon. Eventually, at the dungeon’s end, I’d find a new ability, such as to slow time, to release a bomb charge or to fly over water. These abilities would further enliven combat and empower me to make yet further progress in the overworld, reaching new areas containing their own dungeons. Rinse and repeat.

Minishoot’ Adventures’ release date trailer.Watch on YouTube

By the time I beat its final boss around nine hours into Minishoot’ Adventures, I was pleased. There’s a generosity to the game, the sense that it wants you to have fun and isn’t too interested in standing in your way. It’s not entirely frictionless, to be clear, but take for example the ability to downgrade your abilities and refund the points at any time. There were plenty of fights, including bosses, that I failed five or six times, but progress could often be fairly achieved by restructuring my upgrades to favour damage output over speed or other abilities.

The only knock I had against the game by this point was that I didn’t find it very interesting. There’s nothing technically original about Minishoot’ Adventures; it’s a derivative mashup of two well-trodden genres that, in their meeting, reveal nothing new about each other. I’ll be honest, that makes it a tough game to write an engaging review about while avoiding cliche.

Yet when I beat that final boss, I didn’t want to stop. Minishoot’ Adventures feels so good to play that I continued to explore, heading to the by-then uncovered map markers to mop up. It was in this final run that I think I fell in love, as I gathered remaining abilities, collectibles, and plot beats one after another and in quick succession. I never 100% a game, but I did that and still kept going in Minishoot’ Adventures. I was sad when it was truly over, too.

So let’s not overcomplicate it. Minishoot’ Adventures is an outwardly straightforward game, but its straightforwardness is deceptive. As I was playing, a stupid question formed: given its conceptual obviousness and simple pleasures, why aren’t there more games as good as this? It’s a stupid question because it has an obvious answer: because it’s incredibly difficult to make a good game and because what seems straightforward in retrospect almost never is in creation. Maybe Minishoot’ Adventures isn’t a “great” game, but it sure is a great time, and that’s plenty.

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Minishoot’ Adventures

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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