Kiki – A Vibrant 3D Platformer is exactly as its name suggests. From a first-person perspective, players need to jump their way through 60 American Gladiator-like obstacle courses, optionally snagging a few collectables, that serve no purpose, along the way.
Unfortunately, this game is unplayable. Why? Because there is no option to invert the vertical axis. I don’t care if you are a solo developer creating a budget five-dollar game or if it is a AAA $70 title, any game that doesn’t have an option to invert the camera, especially a first-person title designed around precision jumping, instantly receives a 1 out of 10 for unplayability. It is 2024. There is no excuse for not having an option to invert the stupid camera.
Not having the ability to invert the camera is only the beginning of the problems. Worse yet, the camera is placed about 6 inches off the ground. You simply do not have the perspective available to make educated jumps because you can’t see what’s in front of you. It feels like you are playing as a child’s action figure in a spike-filled day care center. By default, the camera also moves much too slowly. There is an option to increase its speed but then it feels too fast. There is no sweet spot.
Even if this game had an option to invert the perspective, it still would receive a low score. Each level is composed of the same assets; only the colors will change every ten stages. The jumping, the only action you perform, is also random at best. Sometimes when the “A” button is pressed, you jump. Sometimes not. It gets very frustrating when you walk down that pit literally right in front of the finish line through no fault of your own. Jumping over the same spinning saw blades and children’s lettered building blocks might be okay for one stage but not for the entire game.
While the assets are not the best, the level design is also terrible. Many have branching paths where only one path leads to the exit. Sometimes both paths need to be taken to unlock doors with keys, using the RT in which the game never explains, so backtracking is necessary. The lack of checkpoints means that you will probably die towards the end of a stage because the jumping is inconsistent, causing high levels of stress, worry, and frustration.
The music is also ear piercingly terrible. These tracks are free-to-download EDM beat-heavy music that simply transitions from one to the next. The music, for example, does not change with each stage. It just does what it wants when it wants, like pressing the inconsistent jump button. This game also has the slowest Credits scroll of all time. It is so slow that it is hysterical, as if the developers didn’t want their name to be associated with this project, hoping you will cancel back to the main menu before a single name appears.
The only reason I am giving this game a 2 instead of a 1 is because it is possible to snipe some easy Achievements. Earning them all, however, will require completing all 60 stages, which takes a level of tenacity I don’t think many players will have, even for a five-dollar game. And it pains me to say this because I am a big fan of EastAsiaSoft titles.
Not As Good As: stabbing yourself in the eye
Don’t Forget About: Kiki the monkey in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Wait For It: a patch with invert look
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
Please consider supporting me on Patreon or BuyMeACoffee.
RATING
OUR SCORE - 2
2
SCORE
A horrible game made even more unplayable thanks to the lack of an invert camera option.