Like The Kangaroo is a name veteran players will remember well, for the leaps on tilting platforms, the hours spent beating monsters of various kinds and the colorful levels that characterized the series. For the younger players, on the other hand, we’ll take care of it. Kao The Kangaroo is one Platform video game series born in 2000 from the minds of Tate Multimedia, a Polish software house specialized over time in titles of this kind. Kangaroo Kao were made four different games who have conquered a niche of passionate audiences of the genre without ever achieving great popularity.
Despite the excellent premises, in fact, the world of platformers at the time was dominated by much more pop figures such as Spyro e Crash Bandicoot and Kao’s potential has been pushed out of the limelight. This year, however, after 22 years, Kao the Kangaroo will return to the stage again with a new chapter of Kao The Kangaroo that aims to bring back this fun character forgotten over time. The new chapter will arrive this summer but we were able to preview the game demo. Here’s what we found out
The return of Kao The Kangaroo
In this chapter of Kao The Kangaroo, our hopping protagonist will have to face a long adventure to discover the truth about the disappearance of his father. Guided by a fearless spirit he will have to face the many dangers and levels and make use of his skills and the power of his punches. The gloves, left to him by his father, are not in fact simple boxing tools but hide an arcane secret that will help you (?) To go forward and see beyond your mammalian eyes.
Our proof
The Demo that we tried in preview allowed us to explore the first world of Kao The Kangaroo for about half an hour in which we had the opportunity to savor what the game will have to offer. A colorful world full of coins, diamonds and other collectibles, from secret maps to the classic letters scattered around the level that make up the name Kao. But where there are precious objects there are enemies ready to defend them.
A series of funny little monsters, more or less difficult to beat, are scattered throughout the level. Frogs ready to attack, fire-breathing fish, spiders hanging from the ceiling waiting to grab you and more spring traps, swamps on which it is better not to slip and much more. For being alone a level (lasting about 25 minutes) the amount of elements available was very high and there is still a lot to discover in the base game.
Between more classic features that we can find in a platform of this type, we have found some interesting mechanics. The mystical nature of Kao’s gloves allows him to see, in certain points of the map, elements of another dimension without which he could not overcome specific areas. It is a simple but effective mechanic that has given an aura of mystery to a seemingly frugal and colorful game.
Developer:
Tate Multimedia
Price:
0
The style of Kao
The technical sector. From what we have seen, animations, graphics, lights and shadows are always at the top with the typical smudges of adventure games that do not negatively affect the gaming experience. Surprise also the camera management, usually the Achilles heel of platformers, which in Kao The Kangaroo seemed particularly easy to control with a mouse. Considering the fact that this is a simple Demo, the quality has particularly impressed us and gives us hope.
The situation is different with regards to game audio and music, quite flat and at times not present during the game. We’re sure it’s just a flaw in this version and can’t wait to find out more when the full game arrives
Our preview of Kao The Kangaroo in a nutshell
Kao The Kangaroo was a pleasant re-discovery. The new chapter seems to present all the typical elements of old-fashioned platform video games with all the pros and cons of this statement. What we saw was a little taste of what the full game will be that we can’t wait to sift through. Gloves of various kinds and with different powers, new mechanics, fantastic levels and an arch-enemy to defeat, anticipated by the announcement trailer, do us well hope for a glorious return of Kao.
An official release date has not been announced at the moment but Kao The Kangaroo is expected to arrive in the summer of 2022 su PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch e PC.