Nikoderiko: The Magical World — Director’s Cut

[code]No spoilers in this review! Played on a Steamdeck [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45534557/]@MatureContent[/url][/code] This game is the definition of a hidden gem. I had never heard of Nikoderiko before it randomly popped up on my store page a few months back and now after playing it, I am surprised that I had never heard of it before, because it definitely deserves a bigger audience than it currently has. This is a Crash Bandicoot clone, if it is fair to call it that. It is a fun and well animated co-op game with splitscreen support, full voice acting and a pretty good story attached. I spent most of my time in this game solo, but I did try out split screen co-op for a bit with my wife, she however, isn't really into any game that requires too much movement, so we only did about two levels together. The split screen works fine though, but the difficulty is definitely lowered a lot when you can spawn on your friend after you die and avoid going back a checkpoint, but at the same time, the difficulty is also raised a bit when it comes to movement. This is a "faster" platformer that has a lot of sections that rely on speed and timing and this can be challengin…

Every time one of these DKC-likes come out of the woodwork, I am always once again disappointed. They never get the physics right. There's no weight to these characters. Also, how do you make a platformer and add no feedback for defeating enemies. You don't even get any good bounce off of jumping on them. You don't need a hit stun but just something that feels like I'm actually bouncing around. Dave is also off his game, but I wonder if that's just them asking him to do that DKC thing. He's clearly just going through the motions. Speaking of sound, they just straight up lifted all the sound effects from Retro's DKC games for some reason lol. To be not all negative, the transition from 2D to 3D surprised me and was interesting. It definitely feels better in 3D as a Crash-like, but that's not saying much. As a platformer, it's fine. It's completely serviceable. As a "love letter" to Donkey Kong Country, it completely fails to understand anything beyond Dave Wise music and KONG letters as to why DKC is still beloved. Play the Microids Marsupilami game if you want a game that actually nails the physics and feels good to play.

Fantastic little platformer. Tight enough controls, starts super easy but gets into a groove a couple worlds in, runs well on steam deck. Excellent to play with a kid, or solo. 2D sections are basically Donkey Kong Country, and then there's small 3D sections with a fixed camera like a Crash Bandicoot. Good price. Good music. Good game.

Nikoderiko is simply an absolutely delightful game. It's bursting with character, charm, and fun. It is absolutely strongly inspired by donkey kong country and even crash bandicoot but absolutely in a great way. The platforming is tight, the collectibles and bonus rooms are fun to find, and the music by David Wise is simply fantastic. I love the track that plays when you complete a level. It's very catchy, and the main characters even do a little dance which always made me smile. As far as criticisms, the only thing I would say is that the 3d crash-like sections are pretty shallow and are not nearly as fleshed out as the 2d ones. While the 2d platforming is definitely the main focus, I enjoyed the fact they had the 3d sections every once in a while to shake things up. I just wish there was a little more to them. Overall, the game is terrific. If you love the donkey kong country games, this game stands alongside them strongly in my opinion. The difficulty is balanced and the level design makes great use of the game's mechanics. I can't wait to see what these developers make next!

Recommended

Nice.