I adore a good shoot-'em-up once in a while, so I was excited that a new one would be coming exclusively to the Nintendo eShop on Wii U. The game, which is called Gaiabreaker, is the first title to use the Nintendo Framework together with a HTML5/JavaScript engine called enchant.js. While this is an achievement on its own merits, the actual game is sadly a major disappointment. It is the worst Wii U eShop title of 2013, and it’s just in time before the year truly closes.

Where Gaiabreaker instantly falls short is its controls. When you first boot up Gaiabreaker, the game prompts you to hold the controller sideways. This allows you to play the game in two different ways, both of which are barely worth the hassle. You swipe with the stylus to steer your ship left and right, and you tap on the touchscreen to shoot at enemies. However, because the game requires precision, the swipes and taps aren’t nearly accurate enough. Then there are the physical controls, where you use the left control stick to steer and the D-Pad to fire. The firing with the D-Pad is where another load of problems begin, because you have to tap the button each time you want to fire a shot. Endless fire is only available with the X-button, which only works well in horizontal mode, where everything is so small on the touchscreen that it’s barely legible. You can, of course, look at the television, but it makes all the functionalities of the Wii U GamePad somewhat pointless.

The game isn’t very long; it only offers six different stages. Nevertheless, they are all set in different, well animated environments. The music that goes along with it is quite good, but nothing spectacular. A bigger problem, however, is that the game struggles from dips in its frame rate. This is especially a problem for a game that requires precision of movement, as it can cost you lives without it being your fault.

Across these six levels, you will be fighting all kinds of cool mechanical creatures, like enemy robots and towers. Their patterns prove troubling at times, as most of them will shoot bullets in your direction. Even if you are able to dodge them for some time, the amounts of bullets often increase to the point that it becomes difficult to keep track of everything on screen. Sadly, the game lacks an online leaderboard to celebrate your efforts, though it does have a local one. For the internet savvy, there are Miiverse functions, but these simply allow you to post stuff to the community. There are badges and ranks to shoot for if local leaderboards aren’t enough. They barely feel worth it though, as there are no rewards, which makes them not an active part in the experience.

Gaiabreaker is a troubling game for many reasons. The controls are hard to handle, the game is extremely short, and at every step of the way there is a loading screen. The game looks alright, but the frame rate dips and the sometimes troubling patterns make it a mess to play. The game does honestly try, but it misses the mark big time.