The magic meter system from Risky's Revenge returns, which allows Shantae to use unlocked spells at will instead of purchasing them individually. Unlike past Shantae titles, which featured connected world maps that could be freely explored, Half-Genie Hero is divided up into several action stages, which can be replayed to obtain new items that become accessible with the use of certain powers, some of which are required to progress through the story. These transformations can be further upgraded with new abilities. Along with returning transformations, such as the monkey and elephant, new forms include a bat that can cross long gaps, a crab that can maneuver underwater, and a mouse that can crawl into small mazes. Throughout the game, Shantae can obtain dances that allow her to transform into various forms, each with their own abilities that can access otherwise inaccessible areas.

Like the previous installments of the series, the player takes control of Shantae, a half- genie who can use her hair as a whip to attack enemies. The game was funded via Kickstarter, and although the campaign ended in October 2013, WayForward still accepted donations via PayPal on its website up to December 2014, raising over US$900,000. A version for PlayStation 5 was made available in November 2021. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows, and Xbox One in December 2016, for Nintendo Switch the following June, for Amazon Luna in October 2020, and Stadia in February 2021 along with Shantae: Risky's Revenge. It is the fourth game in the Shantae series, following Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, and the first to be specifically developed for high definition game platforms. Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, stylized as Shantae: ½ Genie Hero, is a platform video game developed by WayForward Technologies for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Stadia, and PlayStation 5.

Shantae sprites animated