Review - Kao The Kangaroo - Punching Above Its Wait
Kao… I hate to sound mean but were you OK in the early 2000s?
As someone who is new to the Kao the Kangaroo series of games, my heart was immediately drawn to the boxing glove clad Kangaroo after thoroughly enjoying my time spent with a preview build a few months ago. I was, however, cautious about entering the full version of the game, as high expectations can pave the way for huge disappointment, especially with 3D platforms that demo great in short bursts but run out of ideas stretched across the length of a full game. I am happy to report that was not the case this time!
Simplicity is where Kao truly shines, from the satisfaction of pummelling enemies to navigating various obstacles in each area, nothing is overly complex. The only area I would say that the simplicity is detrimental to the experience is the lack of a map. The game gives you the freedom to explore multiple areas, but that often resulted in a slightly befuddled person holding a controller not knowing exactly where to go or where I had already been. The 3D platformer from Tate Multimedia strikes a delicate balance between old-school nostalgia and modernising a much-loved franchise. In other words, it’s a total knock-out.
You know, I read somewhere that lava is particularly bad for lowering Kangaroo life-span.
I’d like to briefly revisit a point I had made in my preview about severe lag and addressing it by having the lowest settings possible. I played that demo on my laptop and now, having played the full game on Xbox, I can happily report that all issues no longer raised their heads - so either my computer was the problem or the performance has been tightened up for the final version.
As someone who grew up with mascot platformers, Kao’s arguably limited moveset surprisingly felt more like an enhancement of the gameplay where it could have been a hindrance. The basic eight moves did what they needed to do, they helped me to pummel frogs and stop irritating monkeys from hitting me with fruit. The move set seamlessly combos together, which leads to some fun fluid encounters when surrounded by numerous enemies. This bombardment of foes could easily have become overwhelming if not for the simplicity of the moves and their ability to combine into lethal combos (including a special move). Alongside this, ensuring that I needed to find new move combinations to battle different foes prevented each encounter from feeling stale.
“What a lovely concert you frogs have going on here. Sure would be a shame if a Kangaroo with magic boxing gloves were to ‘cancel the gig early’, huh?”
In my preview, I touched on how fun it was to interrupt a frog concert and smash their drum kits to pieces. This has not changed, though it was pleasant to find that the combat against almost every enemy provided varying challenges. With the limited moveset and enemies fought in the first few levels being similar in nature, I was concerned that the combat could feel stagnant as I progressed. Thankfully, the first boss battle proved me wrong by forcing me to utilise my head as well as The Eternal Gloves.
Describing a new 3D platformer as nostalgic has become somewhat quotidian, but in this case, the design of each level coupled with the freedom to explore makes it an apt description. Each level design is as I hoped it would be when Tate Multimedia described it as “a love-letter to the golden age of 3D platformers”. Every area showcases the stereotypical level diversity seen in old-school platformers; you have your snowy area, a desert and a thick jungle to name a few. Again, if done poorly, this could have detracted from the game, as a cheap play on the good old days, but the developers put a modern spin on each design with a striking angular artstyle which both calls back to the technical restrictions of older consoles but also is used to make plants and the vibrant colours of each space stand out. Without striking this balance between respecting the old while adding some new, I doubt each level would have been so enjoyable to stay in and explore.
You might not be able to wash blood of your hands but, thankfully, boxing gloves are designed to be easy to clean!
Speaking of staying in the levels, being able to explore hidden areas kept the game engaging. If it was a simple case of following the story and hitting the end, then I am fairly confident the game would have still been entertaining but not nearly as engaging. A rush of child-like wonder and curiosity was ignited each time a level taunted me with hidden areas by giving me a glimpse at the edge of the screen as I followed the intended path. Destroying cobwebs to find the last letter of Kao’s name or finding a lore-filled scroll ended with me feeling somewhat like Indiana Jones. Time after time, I found myself checking to see if I had found everything in a level (a rare feat for my attention span). If I hadn’t, the pertinent question of “what else is there to see?” would plague my mind until I dove back in. What Kao does so well is mask the idea that the developers intentionally made those spaces for you to find and for the collectables to be so desirable, the game makes you feel like a genius that has found something no one else can. Creating the feeling of satisfaction on a consistent basis in a throwback collect-a-thon really makes Kao hard to put down.
“I’m going to be honest, I am totally lost, so I just going to hang out on these swings for a bit.”
However, this brings me to my only tiny downside to the game, the lack of a map of any kind. Wandering off to explore the unknown was fantastic…until I became hopelessly lost and wandered in a small circle on more levels than I’d care to admit. I’d definitely prefer to have a small map in the corner, or at least have an option to toggle one on or off. Even one that is only accessible by collecting the pieces as I go and viewing it in the pause menu would be helpful. Though it did not detract majorly from the entertainment value of finding Talismans and other collectables myself, getting lost did become frustrating at times and made it harder to get to the best bits of the game. Admittedly, this issue could be my own fault as I did spin the camera angle frequently whilst playing and lost track of where exactly I would be heading. A dizzy Kangaroo probably has a poor sense of direction after all.
Alongside references to the original Kao game, bashing barrels to find ducats, and unleashing fists of fury on a variety of troublesome foes, Kao the Kangaroo deftly finds a way to combine stereotypical platformer tropes to create a knock-out game. As a newcomer to the franchise, I am left wanting more from the brave marsupial, and can only hope that Tate Multimedia will continue its dedication to Kao.
