It’s beginning to feel like 3D platformers are slowly making a comeback, at the very least they are currently sort of niche. Once the most popular genre in gaming when 3D gaming first became a thing, it’s often said, in my circles, that they just don’t make them now like they used to. “Kukoos Lost Pets” is clearly a love letter to a classic genre. While it isn’t perfect, it certainly develops its own earned amount of charm, with its world and characters, as well as, of course, being fun to play.
After an experiment gone awry in the fantasy world of the Kukoos, animated and almost monkey-like creatures, whose pets are no longer obedient and have become aggressive. Throughout your playthrough you will be exploring multiple worlds at the Kukoo tree, which has infinite doors to infinite worlds (not really) to find and rescue your brainwashed lost pets. The concept is simple enough to give the gamer enough context for motivation behind the characters, but the real draw lies of course in the platforming gameplay.
I was quickly reminded of some of the recent 3D platformers I personally enjoyed, such as “Astro’s Playroom” and “Sackboy: A Big Adventure.” While this title doesn’t really reach the same heights for me as those titles, it gets a lot right. There are a dozen playable characters and special abilities to unlock when finding your lost pets that help you unlock more areas in the levels. Speaking of, the level designs are very creative with it’s alternative paths to take to finish, as well as just the overall look and feel of each world. Like many in the genre, there are creative boss battles, this game is no different and I looked forward to each boss I encountered. I even enjoyed the kid-friendly cutscenes that look really great and while the humor is pretty silly, it actually worked well for these characters.
My biggest gripes were probably the combat mechanics, which never felt all that great to me, even with how simple they are. The platforming itself can also get a little tricky, the camera felt unreliable at times and very unhelpful with my goals it can get frustrating. While I do appreciate puzzles in games, some of these puzzles in the levels can be surprisingly challenging, I was beginning to think I was getting to be too stupid to solve puzzles, when playing a game catered mostly to kids, perhaps that shouldn’t be an issue I should be having, at least some hints would be nice please.
Similar to the “Sackboy” game, there is a pretty good incorporation of multiplayer that I feel will be great for families to hop in and play together. “Kukoos: Lost Pets” may not be the overall aesthetic I usually enjoy, maybe not even for the average adult, but it was charming enough to not hate playing it for this review. This is certainly more geared to the younger audiences and that’s totally okay, because I believe the developers have succeeded in their goals, with a fun and imaginative 3D platformer that knows what it is and who it’s for… and did a great job doing it.
7.5/10
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Related: Nick Navarro Reviews
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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