I have a lot of game consoles, but two that I don’t have are any sort of VR device, and an Xbox One.  I don’t have anything against Microsoft, in fact, the 360 was my favorite console of last generation.  But game consoles are expensive and there just isn’t enough games on the Xbox One or VR titles that would get me to buy one of those.  But one year at PAX I saw a VR game that looked right up my alley.  It was a colorful 3-D game called Lucky’s Tale that starred a cartoon fox who looked suspiciously like my favorite SEGA character (minus one tail).  And after that, there was an Xbox One title called Super Lucky’s Tale.  But now I don’t have to worry about either of those because New Super Lucky’s Tale is now on Switch, a game console I do have!  Since I’ve never played the others, I don’t know what’s new or super about it, but New Super Lucky’s Tale is a colorful and cheerful romp that reminds me of the 3-D platformers you could play in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

In the game you play as Lucky, a happy young fox who lives with his family and friends.  They’re all animals who protect a magic book that can open portals to new worlds.  But one day the evil wizard cat Jinx steals pages from the book and separates Lucky from his family.  Now Lucky must search worlds for book pages and battle Jinx and his kitten band called the Kitty Litter!  He’ll travel through sky castles, farmlands, canyons, tropical islands, and more!

You’ll start off in a hub world with about five or so main levels in each to tackle.  Some worlds are 3-D while others are 2-D platforming sections.  It’s about half and half.  Each level has four main pages to find.  You get one for collecting 300 coins, one for spelling out the letters LUCKY, one is hidden away in a level, and you get one just for completing the main goal.  In each hub world are puzzles, marble mazes, and other mini-games for you to complete that can give you extra pages as well.  Get enough pages to unlock the boss of the world and move onto the next.  Even though it’s a bit of a collect-a-thon, I didn’t really have to do much backtracking at all to get enough pages to progress.

If it’s one thing the game nails, it’s play control.  Very responsive and much better than other modern 3-D platformers like Yooka-Laylee.  Lucky can run, double jump, swipe enemies with his tail, and burrow into the ground to escape obstacles and find hidden passages and treasure.

I only had a few minor problems with the game.  As with many other 3-D platformers, sometimes camera angles would be problematic, and judging jumping distances was tricky at times.  Boss fights are a bit uninspired, which is a shame since the characters are so much fun.  You just avoid a barrage of attacks and swipe a projectile back at them, and repeat the process two more times.  Loading times are a bit long, but I did like some of the jokes they tell while loading.  Especially the one about the unstamped letter, even though I didn’t get it.  The game also runs on a ‘lives’ system which is a bit outdated and annoying as well.  But even though the game doesn’t revolutionize the 3-D platforming genre, it still put a smile on my face and games don’t do that as much as they used to for me.  And I certainly enjoyed it much more than other modern 3-D platformers like Yooka-Laylee and A Hat in Time.

Kid Factor:

New Super Lucky’s Tale is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Mild Cartoon Violence.  You can stomp on enemies and swipe them with your tail, but they just get dizzy stars and disappear or run away when defeated.  Reading skill is helpful for the text, and younger gamers who aren’t as accustomed to 3-D platforming may have trouble with some of the tougher jumps and obstacles.  But I imagine any kid would be delighted to get this game for Christmas.

Tags: Game Reviews