The Last Tinker™: City of Colors

That may sound somewhat cryptic, but I'll explain. Assuming you've played a fair amount of games, this game will probably remind you of a fair number of them without ever reaching those heights. There's some platforming elements in it, but it's not a 3D platformer since all jumps are basically pre-determined paths. So it's like in Ocarina of Time where you don't really jump yourself, it's initiated by the game. Like in Assassin's Creed you hold a button to go into 'parkour' mode, but unlike AC you can only do this at certain points and the lock/snap on mechanic means you're basically just holding forward and the run button. It has a sort of super bright paper-y world like Viva Pinata, but without the art direction and most of the charm. It uses the sort of Rare-style Banjo & Kazooie voices, but again without the charm and mostly just annoying and creepy. It also occasionally uses Navi-like sidekicks to point things out, but these have real presence in the game and thus you'll run into them from time to time. There are several games that have used the 'oh noes, the colors are going away' bit as a plot and most of those were more fun. What you do get is a slightly charming and somewhat fun 'homage' to a bunch of games most people loved without quite hitting that mark. Think for example of one your favorite games that had a mobile port/sequel/spin-off made. It's usually still fun, but it mostly reminds you of that great game you love. That is pretty much what this is. If you want something that's charming, kid friendly (AKA easy and simple), and very brightly colored.. get this when it's on sale.

This is a character-centered action game with a little bit of each of a variety of mechanics. It is NOT an orb-collecting platformer, if you immediately thought of Spyro or Jak & Daxter. It is more like Ratchet and Clank without the guns and with a tiny, tiny budget What is good: the writing is sparse, but good. The design is cool. The music and sound are okay. There's a positive theme; I would feel good about giving this to any kid, but the writing is good enough for anyone, not just kids. What is bad: Polish. It needs less motion blur, clearer maps, fewer platforms that look jumpable but aren't. Difficulty Settings. There is a "kid" difficulty level, but timing is still precise (dodging bombs, "stealth"), and the enemies still hit hard in this setting. It isn't a solo game for young children, and I don't think tweens, who could handle the difficulty, will like its complete lack of edginess. MOAR Mechanics. There are a few rail-grinding sections which have mushy controls and bad cameras. "Stealth." Sound-based puzzles that have sounds that play on top of each other. Maps. You don't spend enough time in the areas to learn the routes, but there is no map (well, there is one that conveys nothing useful). You can have the sidekick point out the way, but he might as well have been a quest arrow. Who will like it: I liked it for light relaxation. It's short, it isn't tedious or offensive, and it's very colorful with fun designs. You might also want to play it with a grade-school buddy, which could be a lot of fun.

Don't let the brightly colored screenshots fool you: this game is boring as heck. Sluggish controls and runs poorly on both PC and consoles, you would be wise to avoid it.

The game is beautiful. The colors and the way the world looks is fantastic. But the gameplay is just dull. It's called a platformer, but it isn't even really that. You basically hold a dash button to run around and solve simplistic mazes with occasional combat and a random stealth element thrown in for fun. Precise movements are rarely, if ever, required and there is no challenge. Even the combat is basic and requires no challenges. The boss fights are a little more creative, but they don't really have a higher challenge either. The enemies don't get any more difficult either, for the most part, but you continually unlock new abilities and get stronger, which just serves to make the combat even more boring. On top of this, the save system is terrible. There are built in checkpoints that function well enough, but the game doesn't save at those checkpoints. You only continue from the checkpoint if you die and continue to play. If you decide to turn the game off before reaching an actual save point, you can say goodbye to any progress you made. Those save points are occasionally far between too, which is just unacceptable at this point. I remember at least one section that took me nearly an hour to get to the next save point. The story is fairly entertaining, but rather simplistic. Overall, I think the game would appeal to children. My kids enjoyed watching it and liked the story, but I was very bored. If you're looking for something new that will tickle your 3D platforming itch as an adult, look elsewhere.