Test – Kao the Kangaroo – A beautiful tribute to the 3D platformers of yesteryear | XboxOne

Surfing on the wave of 3D platform games of the early 2000s, Kao the Kangaroo, born on Dreamcast in 2001, was treated to several adaptations on PC and consoles. After an absence of more than a decade, Tate Multimedia has already successfully brought the marsupial back in 2019 to Steam. The enthusiasm of the players having been appreciated, the Polish studio is now trying to dust off the saga with this fifth opus, and we will see that despite a few minor technical details, it is rather successful.

Back to the future

Hopalloo Island acts as a tutorial.

We are not going to dwell on the scenario, predictable in its development. The father and sister of Kao, our protagonist, have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. This starting point is the pretext for this cute adventure, classic in its development, but with the delicious taste of the tenors of the genre. Without reaching the mastery of a Crash Bandicoot or a Banjo Kazooie, Kao the Kangaroo still manages to entertain us for a good ten hours. A few additional hours are nevertheless necessary for aficionados of 100% completion.

On the advice of Master Walt, the young marsupial must learn to tame the Eternal Gloves that once belonged to his father, in order to progress on a path strewn with pitfalls. Kao’s powers remain limited in number and are acquired gradually, thus smoothing out the rise in power of our hero throughout his mission.

The Eternal Gloves provide us with help.

Among the few unlockables, we note that of fire. Our gloves then turn into fists of lava and allow us to activate certain mechanisms or melt blocks of ice. The power of the frost transforms an impassable expanse of water into a skating rink, also making it possible to move blocks that are difficult to move without ice in the area. The power of the wind, which probably arrives a little late in the adventure, gives us the opportunity to suck up blocked platforms a few meters away, or to send the few enemies posted in our path flying.

The number of possibilities remains relatively low, and yet, we do not particularly feel any redundancy concerning the gameplay. The fact that the levels are concluded in about half an hour each, as well as the alternation between the phases of combat, platform and puzzles which are rather well dosed, prevents us from feeling a form of weariness yet conceivable at the first on board.

The qualities of a 3D platformer from 20 years ago…

The living space of Kao’s family and their friends is truly exotic.

Regarding the very structure of the title, we are on familiar ground. The island of Hopalloo, a magnificent expanse smelling of the Caribbean, acts as the first hub, in which we will familiarize ourselves with the controls and learn our first objectives. We can converse there with different characters in order to learn a little more about the universe and the issues.

These exchanges are not all very interesting and it is not the somewhat bland staging of the dialogue phases with the famous shot-reverse shot that remedies this. However, this still has the advantage of making the places livelier and really not unpleasant to explore.

Gadget, Kao’s friend, seems very inspired by Flagada Jones, the aviator of the Scrooge Band. And it is not to displease us.

To use the words of the eternal Player of the Grenier, Kao the Kangaroo is part of the large family of so-called “patoune” games. Whether in the fifteen levels to cross or the different hubs that we explore, we will have to look for different collectable objects. They do not bring much in themselves, except this desire to complete each table at 100% and thus increase the low duration of the title by encouraging replayability.

The eternal wells are places of challenges based on courses to complete or waves of enemies to knock out.

Ducats are used to buy extra lives or pieces of heart, as well as to change Kao’s attire. Obtaining diamonds or treasure chests is quite uneven. Some are fairly easily flushed out by referring to a little music that you hear when you are nearby, while others are hidden among the ferns in places that are sometimes secret, sometimes visible from tens of meters away. . The runes, all found on the way, or almost, are the most important objects. Indeed, we need to obtain a defined quantity to cross each portal leading to a new level. Obtaining them is easy, although some are better concealed and require a little more research.

The end of level table lets you know what you missed.

Otherwise, like a Donkey Kong Country, we must also find the letters making up the name of our marsupial. Finally, some scrolls that can be obtained at the end of the fights reveal descriptive lines about our enemies in an encyclopedia available via the pause menu. The bestiary besides let’s talk about it. Overall, we are dealing with a few repetitions from one level to another: the enemies in close combat, those who swing projectiles at us, and the aerial soldiers. A boss punctuates each biome, armed with patterns varying over several phases. Killing all this animal army is done without too much difficulty, the save points being intelligently posted and the fights very accessible, although sometimes messy.

Minions are rarely more than 5 or 6 to face us.

Primarily intended for a young audience, the title is easy to navigate. The range of moves is intended to be simplistic and in fact, we have no difficulty in getting rid of our enemies, who mostly challenge us in small groups. We distribute fists in the fray, dodge attacks by rolling, and have the possibility of stunning these minions with our ground strikes. Moreover, this movement is also required to activate certain mechanisms during the platforming phases. Finally, we note the presence of a double jump, necessary to reach higher heights, or even a spinning aerial attack in order to return the projectiles.

Boss fights are the most complicated, but still accessible.

If the mechanics of combat and exploration remain the most classic, the strong point of the title is clearly its artistic direction with its 3D rendering which flatters the retina. The colors are shimmering and the different biomes show a maddening visual beauty, if not original. Accompanied by a very pleasant soundtrack to the ear despite a small lack of diversity, the environments become a real pleasure to explore.

But also the flaws, and yet

We have the impression of rediscovering the games of our childhood, both the realization and the gameplay reminiscent of the titles which made the golden age of 3D platform games at the beginning of the century. This also goes through the few flaws inherent in this genre. First of all, a certain lack of originality is felt both in the level design and in the objectives to be achieved. Indeed, apart from the more open hubs, the ten levels to go have a very similar structure to what was done twenty years ago without trying to renew. We would have appreciated having the possibility of choosing a secondary path, so as not to repeat the same levels over and over without sometimes experiencing a little boredom.

Helped by its artistic direction, the title is visually very pleasant.

Another downside, if the title is of exemplary fluidity in 4K and 60 frames per second, we note a few rare problems with popping here and there. In addition, some camera problems disturb visibility in certain areas that are a little more cramped. The ease with which we go through the adventure can also spoil the fun depending on the profile of the player. As we mentioned above, Kao the Kangaroo is certainly an opus that is primarily aimed at young audiences, however having the choice of difficulty would have been a plus.

The moments of slipping are not the most successful.

The platform phases are not left out. Indeed, some passages made us cringe, because of the imprecision of certain jumps. We quickly got back into the habit of referring to the hero’s shadow in order to perform the correct manipulations, but this is not always reliable. As for the two or three pursuits or moments of sliding present, the movements of the marsupial remain a little rigid and Kao seems as if fixed on rails where we are content to press left or right to make it evolve from one branch to the other. other. If these phases bring a bit of variety to the adventure, we must admit that they are not more fun than that.

Finally, let’s talk about the sound part. The OST is varied and relatively good overall. On the other hand, we did have a few moments where the music completely disappeared for no reason, often following a cutscene. Likewise, we regret the absence of dubbing in French, the title being intended above all for the youngest. The subtitles are present in the language of Molière but we think that this could still pose some comprehension problems for our cherubim.

The Kaopedia provides information on the protagonists.

Despite everything, Kao the Kangaroo is savored with undisguised pleasure. The comeback of the animal is successful despite some technical wanderings. The pleasure of (re)discovering this license born twenty years ago will appeal to the most nostalgic, as well as to those in need of old-fashioned platform games. Long live the sequel!

Tested on Xbox Series X (Optimized)