Kao the Kangaroo

Очень достойная игра. Но учитывая цену - советую брать по скидке

Throughout my playthrough of Kao the Kangaroo, I went back and forth on whether or not I would actually recommend it countless times. At the conclusion of the original version of this review, I somewhat begrudgingly ended up giving it the thumbs up overall because despite its flaws I did have some fun with it. However, after going back to mop up some collectables in the main game and suffering through the majority of the Break the Roo'les DLC (which I didn't finish because I died twice to the boss and decided not to put myself through any more of this torment), I can safely tell you that - upon further reflection - Kao the Kangaroo is a bad game. The voice acting, dialogue and cutscene direction are staggeringly bad, to the point where they're embarrassing. Next time you want to complain about Troy Baker and Nolan North being in absolutely everything, play Kao the Kangaroo for five minutes and count your blessings. The innumerable smashable crates that usually contain coins sometimes contain explosive barrels that bounce towards you, which is utterly infuriating because there doesn't seem to be a way to discern which crates might have barrels in them (or at least that I could ascertain), so every time I smashed a crate I was instinctively dodge rolling out of the way just in case a barrel would pop out and explode in my face. There's good old fashioned Unreal Engine pop-in all over the place. I had numerous audio bugs whereby some ambient sounds would get painfully loud, or the music would straight up stop playing. The camera likes to skitter about in tight areas and make it impossible to see what you're doing. The combat is weightless, imprecise and the collision of your attacks on the enemies is way too spotty and haphazard. Who the hell still puts checkpoints before cutscenes and not after them? Not once did this game save my invert Y-axis camera setting. Literally every time I opened up the game, I'd have to go into the settings and re-apply the desired setting. There's just a general sloppiness to the entire thing; too many bad design choices or obstacles/hazards that should be easy to avoid but end up doing you in. Like I said at the start, I did have some fun with Kao the Kangaroo; the levels are generally well laid out and fun to play through, the game's not too long and there aren't an obnoxious amount of collectables to find. But there's just so much working against this game that it's impossible to recommend it. Honestly though, with a bit of fine tuning a hypothetical sequel could actually be a 3D platformer worth playing.

Kao the Kangaroo was a franchise I remembered from my childhood, particularly Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2, which I originally played years ago. Coming back to the series with this modern reboot, I expected a simple platformer that would preserve the identity of the older games while modernizing the visuals and controls. In some ways it succeeds, but in others it feels like the game lost sight of what made Kao enjoyable in the first place. Visually, the game is a clear improvement over the older titles. The environments are colorful, character models are well made, and the overall presentation is polished. The cutscenes are also enjoyable and help give the adventure some personality. At its core, the combat remains recognizable, with Kao using his gloves to fight enemies much like he did in previous games. The problem is that the game constantly slows itself down with systems that add length without adding much value. Instead of focusing on platforming and progression, the game introduces a large number of collectibles, currencies, challenge portals, cosmetics and progression requirements. Before reaching bosses, players often need to collect crystals and other resources simply to unlock the next area. While none of these systems are terrible on their own, together they create a pacing problem that becomes increasingly noticeable as the game goes on. This is where I feel the reboot loses part of the franchise's identity. The older Kao games were relatively straightforward. You completed levels, collected what you wanted, defeated bosses and moved on. Here, progression often feels artificially stretched. Entire hub areas are filled with collectibles and optional activities that seem designed more to increase playtime than to improve the experience. The combat also feels simplified compared to what I remember from the older games. Regular enemies rarely require much thought and often stand there absorbing hits until they are defeated. In previous entries there was a greater sense of timing, where avoiding attacks and reacting to enemy behavior felt more important. Boss fights are still one of the stronger aspects of the game, but even they lack some of the tension and memorable presentation that made them stand out in the older titles. Another issue is the customization system. Kao never really needed cosmetic unlocks, yet a large amount of the collectible economy revolves around buying outfits and appearance options. For players who enjoy customization this might be a nice addition, but personally it felt unnecessary and disconnected from what the series was originally about. The result is a game that feels caught between two directions. On one hand it wants to be a faithful revival of a classic platformer. On the other, it adopts many modern design trends involving collectibles, currencies and optional activities. Instead of strengthening the experience, these additions often make the game feel slower and less focused. Kao the Kangaroo is not a bad game. It is functional, visually appealing and can be enjoyable in short sessions. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that the franchise lost some of its original simplicity and charm in an attempt to appeal to modern audiences. More content does not always create a better game, and in this case I believe a more focused experience would have produced a stronger result. Score: 5/10 (1) Trash (2) Horrible (3) Very Bad (4) Bad (5) Average (6) Fine (7) Good (8) Very Good (9) Great (10) Master Piece

[i]Kao the Kangaroo is a great example of a game that would benefit from a "thumbs sideways" review option. It gets a thumbs up, but just barely, and with a few caveats. Let me explain.[/i] Kao is undoubtedly a charming little 3D platformer. I say this having never played the classic Kao games from the "before" times. I have absolutely zero nostalgia tied to this series, but I do think this version of Kao serves a specific kind of audience; that audience being young kids. I would say maybe kids around 6 - 8, [i]maybe[/i] 10, though I think that's getting to an age where one would want more substance from their games. I also say this as someone without children of my own, so take that as you will. Some of the gameplay mechanics are truly fun and creative. Things like extending Kao's (the titular character's) neck to reach lower areas when hanging from ropes. Meanwhile, I also found Kao's expressive animations to be fun and whimsical, which really fit in with the tone of our little kangaroo boxer being lovable and friendly. I would be lying if I said I didn't think Kao had some charming character design. Not only Kao himself, but his friends and acquaintances who we meet along our journey, as well. That's just the character designs, though. What really broke the immersion for me was, unfortunately, the voice acting. I'd almost rather they [i]didn't[/i] have voice acting, and used the tried and true method of dialogue boxes instead. In a way, the voices do kind of fit, but in way that's more akin to that of a group of friends in elementary school who have gotten hold of their parents video/film equipment and started recording lines to a home video version of Kangaroo Jack. Which is to say, not good. Charming, but not good. On another note of downsides, I'll add that I played the game to the end on Steam Deck; both docked with a JSAUX dock hooked up to a 50-inch TV, and in handheld mode in bed/on the couch. In Kao's favor, I'll add that it managed to look beautiful, even when playing hooked up to the TV (Samsung QLED). There were a few settings that needed adjusting, but once I got it dialed in, I was managing some decent performance (forgive me if I don't remember the exact frame rate numbers; I've since played through a few more games, and I'm behind on writing reviews). That being said, even with the decent performance, the game was frustrating to play through. Not because of difficulty, but because of glitches. Let's start another paragraph for that. Glitches were somewhat rampant when playing on Steam Deck. I have a more powerful main machine, but I did not try the game on beefier hardware, as I was playing through it on vacation. (It is a good vacation game, though). Some of the glitches I ran into on Steam Deck were soft locking during boss battles, sound disappearing during transition between cutscenes and gameplay, and items that were supposed to spawn just not spawning. I had to exit the game and relaunch the application more times than I cared to count. Another mildly frustrating bug I ran into was inputs not registering, or if they were registering, they were massively delayed. (The input issues were when playing with a DualSense/PlayStation 5 controller). Ending on another positive note, the music is also very charming and fitting for this style of game. I think the game itself does hold up, even if for a very specific group of people. It was easy enough to be baby's first 3D platformer, while also being unique enough to hold its own outside of being just-another-platformer. The story won't blow you away, but some of the environments are very creative, the character's are enjoyable, the music is enjoyable, and the overall gameplay itself is good enough to keep you interested. [i]Summary: Kao the Kangaroo is a great first-time 3D platformer. I could easily recommend it to children or youngsters who are new to video games, or who have never played 3D platformers before. As for older audiences, it's most likely a miss, unless you absolutely love those 90s and 00s-era platformers.[/i]

It looks unfinished and it plays like a unfinished game there's no soul in this game it's like one of those mobile games that wants a quick buck glad i got it on a huge sale, if you want a better platformer play Super Lucky's tale, that game is so much better and has soul compared to this boring game.

[h1] ПРЫГ СКОК ТУСА ОК ФЛЕКСИ УХОМ ОП-ОП [/h1] Kao the Kangaroo (2022) — это платформер от 3 лица, который пытается быть и продолжением старой трилогии, и отдельной историей, но в итоге не становится ни тем, ни другим по-настоящему ярко. С одной стороны, тут всё, за что фанаты любили серию: ты снова управляешь кенгуру Као, разбиваешь ящики, собираешь монеты, бриллианты и буквы (новая фишка здесь у каждого уровня), из которых складывается имя героя. Добавили и пару новых штрихов: перчатки дают силы стихий (огонь, лёд, ветер), появилась механика накопления энергии для мощного удара, а платформенные секции стали разнообразнее — особенно это чувствуется в битвах с боссами. Ещё в игре есть мини‑свитки с короткими справками про персонажей и врагов: буквально пара строк, но это хотя бы даёт ощущение, что мир чуть глубже, чем просто «беги и бей». Но с другой стороны, именно новизны тут критически мало. Прокачки как таковой почти нет: вместо развития способностей ты просто покупаешь дополнительные жизни и косметические предметы (костюмы, шляпы, очки) в главном хабе. Например, можно собрать четвертинки сердца в полноценное, а среди костюмов есть даже отсылка к "раунд 2" — видимо, разработчики сами признают её культовый статус. Главная проблема — соотношение цены и наполнения. Игра стоит дороже, чем все три предыдущие части вместе взятые, даже со скидкой. При этом проходится она примерно за 4,5 часа — а я рассчитывал на 7. Мейби 9. Да, локации местами атмосферные: в них есть и мистика, и яркие краски, и неплохие визуальные решения, пусть и на Unreal Engine. Пазлы и головоломки стали чуть продуманнее, чем раньше, и требуют не только ударов, но и минимального включения головы. Управление, кстати, вполне адекватное, особенно с геймпада; единственная неудобная штука — зацепы для крюков и кристаллов. Тут клавиатурникам придется немного пострадать. Сюжетно игра должна была поставить точку в истории Као: спасти сестру и отца, разгадать тайну перчаток. [spoiler] Но интрига с этими перчатками, по ощущениям, просто слита: всё заканчивается без серьёзных последствий, никто не несёт наказания, а развязка выглядит слишком спокойной для финальной саги. [/spoiler] Есть чувство, будто игра только начала разгоняться — и тут же остановилась. Враги не доставляют настоящей сложности: они не особо проворные или мощные, хотя иногда могут неприятно подставить подножку. Боссы и механика стихий добавляют разнообразия, но этого недостаточно, чтобы компенсировать общую простоту. Так что если ты уже знаком с оригинальной трилогией, то перезапуск точно не удивит: она не прыгнула выше второй части, которая до сих пор ощущается бодрее и насыщеннее. Для новичка игра может стать неплохим первым знакомством с серией, но только по скидке — хронометраж и наполнение цену не оправдывают. Мой совет: если хочется прикоснуться к франшизе, лучше начать с оригинальной трилогии, а из неё в первую очередь попробовать вторую часть. А эту игру оставь на один разок — глубины тут ждать не стоит. [h3] P. S. 2x. Понравился отзыв или мой профиль? Скинь награду Steam на отзыв. Играйте в хорошие игры, а я пройду треш за вас. [/h3]

damn, i was expecting a lot and got massively let down the game has nothing redeeming its plain, boring, has no soul, the characters are empty, the combat is whatever nothing felt good about the game and the cherry on top: omega cringe "humor" forcing memes in the story is just wrong

Despite being a 2022 release, this manages to be worse than 2 out of 3 of the original games of the 1990s. It's not even the world/level design which is the definition of fine and nothing more. It's that what they got wrong is the pure essence of what a platforming title is, which is the movement: it's slow and inconsistent, doesn't control well and bugs extremely easily, bringing you to sometimes pretty much teleport between spots due to hidden momentum values or something like that (normal inconsistency in many games, but so frequent in this that it baffles the mind how it managed to get released). Then there's the complete absence of fun and interesting enemies or bosses and the extremely bare-bones combat system. All culminating into the weirdest progression structure ever, with levels being unlocked after collecting a certain number of runes, but that number being such that you're still forced to go through every single level, so why even allow you to access the door to other levels, especially when the overworld maps are so big and yet empty? Then comes the DLC which is surprisingly much better in terms of design (obviously not much can be said about the core mechanics), but also fails in many compartments, starting from the overworld, which is the same island from the original except the levels all have only 1 rune so you can really only do them in one order, except that you have to check each door to know the requirements to enter so you end up walking around the empty overworld aimlessly after every level. With the DLC completed, every level from it receives a overhaul made to raise their difficulty except that they're 99% the same except for having moved around a couple jumps and platforms and collectables (the first level tho is pretty much 1 to 1), so why even bother?? All in all an unfortunate mess

Спасибо за всё мое детство, я, вроде, сыграл в эту первую старую легендарную игру (2 часть), мне понравилось. Так что это новая прикольная игра, она подарила мне память. 7 баллов из 10!

Największą zaletą gry jest przyjemna i lekka rozgrywka. Sterowanie jest intuicyjne, dzięki czemu zarówno młodsi, jak i starsi gracze mogą szybko odnaleźć się w świecie gry. Lokacje są zróżnicowane i pełne sekretów, co zachęca do dokładnej eksploracji.