Copy Kitty is a damn good action-platformer-shooter hybrid, which gleefully shows its inspiration from Kirby, Mega Man, Gunstar Heroes and other classic titles in dazzling technicolour explosions. The simple premise - copy and combine up to three enemy attack types to produce well over 100 unique weapons on the main character alone - carries both the Story Mode's 120+ puzzle-maze levels and the Endless Mode's small but looping arena battles against unpredictable enemies, dynamic terrain and weather extremely well.

Both modes are punctuated by some brilliant bosses, each of which typically drops unique copy abilities so you can throw their own attacks right back at them. This leads to some absolutely brilliant moments - my favourite involved uppercut-jousting with a recurring miniboss inside a tornado, set to the most rocking music in the game. Some bosses fill the screen and use devastating, sweeping attacks - others are smaller, but their speed makes up for their lack of presence, forcing you to duck and dive around them and their attacks. I won't spoil the final and hidden bosses, but let's just say they're incredibly worth experiencing.

The amount of polish in the game is absurd for such a small team, with the variable-mix music and huge array of stage types working wonders. Little things like the bestiary listing off nearly every single enemy type and their weaknesses, or the fact that every single weapon and combination - for both characters! - has a unique name, that's care and attention to detail that just makes the experience that much better. There's even a full-featured level editor.

Boki, the lead character, is all about chaotic destruction - her attacks are mostly straightforward and blasting, if not entirely screen-devastating. Some of her powers - especially those incorporating the "Remote" weapon type - take a little to learn their quirks, but prove essential nonetheless. While you're sure to find a favourite weapon combination or two, variety is exceptionally high and you'll likely find yourself trying out nearly all of them one way or another - some stages require a little more thought, but never demand excessive precision. She double-jumps, rolls, kicks, and generally handles in a way that should feel innately familiar to fans of classic platformers, but her terrain-destroying and projectile-reflecting kicks and impressive dynamic arsenal set her apart as a unique hero.

The second character, Savant, provides a slower, more tactical pace and a whole different set of weapons using an entirely different approach - flying and warping around the stage with carefully-positioned weapons. The stages may be the same, but they play almost completely differently as a result. He only mixes two weapons at once, but the order you mix them in matters, so his weapon variety is still staggeringly high. He unlocks fairly shortly into the game, and I strongly recommend giving him a spin.

All in all, Copy Kitty has absolutely taken me by storm, and I reckon it'll do the same for you if you like games which can do both chaos and tactics at the same time. This game has both in spades, providing both delightful neon firework displays and fraught battles in which you'll be hanging on to that last flicking point of health as you overcome challenge after challenge. If you like relentlessly fun games that build on the classics but bring something unique to the table, Copy Kitty is a must-buy.