There was a time when 3D platformers popped up everywhere like colorful, lush mushrooms. Hoping to get in the wake of the success of the various Mario, Banjo-Kazooie and Crash Bandicoot, many companies joined the fray. Some were so successful that they could hear strong echoes even today (see Insomniac with Ratchet & Clank), others got lost in the mists of time despite being able to boast of having shone for a while.
It is the case of Kao the Kangaroo, whose first chapter dated 2000 was developed for PC and Dreamcast and later adapted on the Game Boy Advance. Two not-so-memorable sequels followed over the next five years, after which the cute kangaroo in boxing gloves retired.
Very few would have bet on his return and instead here he is. The reboot of Kao the Kangaroo arrives right now in all physical stores and not thanks to the work of Tate Multimedia, a company born from the ashes of the original developers, X-Ray Interactive. Kao is obviously the protagonist of the story and to the sound of jumps and punches he will have to make his way to complete his umpteenth heroic feat, under the watchful and severe gaze of his irreproachable master … By the way, his name is pronounced as “KO ”Given his natural penchant for boxing!
The beginning of the game is practically a catalog platformer. The first world that will welcome you seems to have been specially assembled to remind us of all the clichés (good and bad) that this genre has been carrying around since its inception. Coins to collect, Sunday morning cartoon dialogues, levels that are progressively unlocked by finding an X number of Runes, explosive chests, walls to hang on to, rushing to the screen, swearing for missing a single diamond throughout the level and so on. There is not a single element in the first few hours of the game that suggests a minimum effort on the part of the developers to stand out from the crowd. Among other things, the levels are extremely linear and simple even for less experienced platformers.
Fortunately, the situation progressively improves already when the second macro-level is reached which, like the others, acts as a hub to reach those connected to it. Even if the biomes do not shine for originality (there is always the damned icy level where you skate and the one with lava and flames), the degree of challenge climbs slightly upwards more than anything else in the context of the platform.
The fights, in fact, remain flat and easily overcome and even the bosses do not represent a particularly noteworthy challenge. But there are several more secrets to unearth and also some fun little environmental puzzle involving Kao’s powers. As the adventure progresses, the hopping protagonist will be in possession of abilities related to the elements (fire, ice, etc.) that will allow him not only to do more damage with right and hooks but also to unlock new routes … provided that find the “ammunition” around to load them.
The game at this point seemed to us to settle on more than dignified levels, still far from the possibility of becoming memorable but capable of offering a fresh and fun experience. The four main biomes, consisting of five levels each, guarantee a more than sufficient longevity that invites those who cannot help but find all the collectibles to replay … however positioned in a rather linear way.
The level of difficulty is calibrated significantly downwards, especially when compared with that of similar titles with which Kao the Kangaroo must be compared. Even the bosses do not particularly shine for originality and those who have a minimum of practice with the platform genre will not take more than a few seconds to understand what their attack patterns and weaknesses are. So far we are still in a more acceptable area, that of a game obviously conceived for a young and not particularly experienced audience.
Unfortunately, during the adventure we ran into a series of problems that made us strongly doubt the testing phase. We could pass over some missing texts, placeholders left there perhaps for distraction and music that was suddenly interrupted. In the end, even some small glitches are bearable, from objects disappearing, others that are not counted and sometimes inaccurate collisions correctable via a simple patch.
However, it is impossible for us to bear what happened not once but twice in the course of the game: after resuming the game we found ourselves with an entire completed level wiped out: the game made us restart from half of the previous one, effectively canceling two abundant hours of “fatigue”.
We specify that the game uses automatic saves and therefore the problem did not arise from our carelessness in manually saving the progress. We are sure that these are sporadic events and that not everyone will have the same bad luck as us, we are however banned from the fact that a problem of this magnitude has passed through the sieve of those who dealt with the pre-launch tests unscathed. Now, even this defect can be easily corrected with an update but it is our duty as critics to report it and give you the final evaluation based on what we have experienced.
Without these flaws, Kao the Kangaroo could also have earned a grade well above passing. It is a simple, old-fashioned platformer that brings to mind a myriad of previous titles but which all in all lets you play and is also quite pleasing to the eye.
We would like to recommend it (post-corrections) to a fairly young or inexperienced audience of the genre. We do not recommend it instead for those looking for a noteworthy challenge after having 100% gutted the various Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Crash Bandicoot 4 and Psychonauts 2.
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