Katamari Damacy REROLL

Definitely one of those "games that secretly sucks" games, but is glazed so hard due to nostalgia. And sure, the music and presentation and vibes, too. Lots of reviews on Steam are from people who already played this game's original release, almost none seem to be coming from fresh eyes. I really only got interested in this game a few years ago after finishing Takahashi's Wattam and watching a streamer friend play Katamari. I finally got around to playing it now. Definitely mixed impressions, but you know the game after a few levels. So here it goes. Pros ✔️ Amazing music. ✔️ Good presentation, art, aesthetic, writing, etc. ✔️ Nice extras like an encyclopedia of what you've collected, constellations, etc. Cons ❌ 30 second countdown timer noise. Perhaps the most obnoxious unavoidable sound in video game history. Apparently no way to disable it. ❌ Inconsistent physics. Game says if you're bigger than something, it'll stick to your katamari. That is false. See that little toy that you are 5x bigger than? Yeah, it just stops you and makes you lose mass instead. See those flowers that are essentially weightless and you are 10x bigger than? Yeah, they just stay there. See all those things that are 1/10th your size that you roll over and they just stay on the ground? Yeah, F that noise. ❌ Controls. While the first 2 Cons aren't enough to give this game a Thumbs Down, the god awful controls are. Both control schemes suck. Fans will gaslight you into thinking the controls are good, you just gotta learn them. Or you gotta "git gud". No, the controls suck. Both schemes. Why Takahashi didn't just use Super Monkey Ball controls is beyond me. I've read explanations, about more precise turning or more realistic perspective, yadda yadda yadda. Nah, BS. Controls are bad and we all know it. Intolerably bad. Why is up/down used to turn left/right instead of just...left/right? Why are Dash and other moves, depending on scheme, so unresponsive? This is just the tip of the iceberg in how bad the controls are. The controls would be somewhat forgiven if each level didn't have a timer on it, so you could just take your time on the level while dealing with the awful controls. But no, the timer just compounds the unfun and illogic that is the controls. That's about it. If you're new to Katamari, you know what you're getting into on the surface. But beyond the veil lies sinisterly terrible gameplay, masked by amazing music and presentation. Unless you like bad controls and misery, save yourself the trouble and just listen to the OST.