Super Kiwi 64 (2022) Review (Switch eShop) - Nintendo Life

Super Kiwi 64 feels similar it’s up to something. There's a tricksy vigor astir it that’s intolerable to ignore. Players of Siactro’s earlier games mightiness beryllium expecting that, but this isn’t conscionable much of the same. Super Kiwi 64 is weird successful its ain peculiar way, presenting a caller guided circuit of this indie developer’s mind.

Kiwi opens successful a hub country that connects 8 main levels for N64-style non-linear item-collection platforming. It looks similar it’s been perfectly preserved successful glacial crystal since the Silicon Graphics Reality Coprocessor epoch of the N64. It could person been released successful 1999, copycatting arsenic Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64. Even backmost then, though, we'd person been somewhat wary, since the level of polish is not up with those titles. But contempt that, it conscionable feels similar determination is something going connected – thing weird.

From the precise archetypal level, messy edges were close successful our face. The camera, for instance, has a laissez-faire cognition to solidity of objects successful the situation and volition happily conscionable clip done immoderate scenery you like... But is thing going on with that? We people utilized the camera to spy done walls and spot wherever we should beryllium trying to get to. Was this by design? Are determination crippled mechanics built retired of seemingly breached 3D fundamentals? Or is that really an anarchic punk aesthetic wherever you request to conscionable chill retired astir the camera and your bourgeois anticipation that it should enactment successful the charade of a coagulated environment? Is the camera deliberately flawed arsenic a parody of itself and an introspection of subordinate expectations of worth successful AAA crippled production? Or could it, maybe, conscionable beryllium a spot rubbish?

That past anticipation doesn’t clasp up precise far. Too overmuch of Super Kiwi 64 is excessively polished for it each conscionable to beryllium a large mistake: the controls are responsive and fun, the question gimmick of spiking your beak into the partition and jumping to ascent up (a Mario Odyssey reference?) is satisfying. On the different hand, the level plan is incredibly simple, with red-key-opens-red-door gating and a wide tally of collectibles that are seldom hidden well, if astatine all.

However, the defiant simplicity of everything is truthful controlled that Siactro indispensable surely beryllium doing it consciously. The microsecond celebratory airs of the kiwi arsenic it collects a jewel is comically undersold compared to Mario’s – present alternatively overblown – twirl erstwhile collecting a Power Moon. Blink and you’ll miss it but, taken arsenic a joke, it’s pitch-perfect. And similar the Toree games earlier it, the sparsity of Super Kiwi 64’s levels is excused by their brevity and precise debased difficulty. That said, portion you could decorativeness the full crippled successful one-to-two hours, it does person a acceptable of genuinely mysterious secrets buried successful it. Without spoiling, let’s conscionable accidental they convinced america that the genuinely cursed vibe of the portion was not conscionable successful our heads.

Our acquisition of Super Kiwi 64 comes down to this: we were having a bully time, but couldn't ever archer if it was contempt the crippled oregon due to the fact that of it. Either we've recovered a golden coin successful a muddy tract oregon we've recovered the look of Elvis successful our porridge. If you're giving this a go, beryllium definite to bring your imaginativeness on with your £2.69.