Fourteen years after the initial release, developer Monkeycraft and publisher BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment have remastered the fun with Katamari Damacy Reroll. This game is cute and built for everyone that just wants to chill out and play, or for those that want to try and beat the timer.
Classified as a roll-em-up game, Katamari Damacy has brought back the King of the Cosmos and his son Pee-Wee the Prince. The king discovered that destroying all of the stars in the sky only made everyone angry with him. His solution was to make his son gather Katamari so that he could refill the sky. Pee-Wee the Prince sets out in different places with a ball-like object that gathers anything it rolls over. The bigger the ball, the higher the score.
If you’ve ever seen the Cartoon Network show Uncle Grandpa, then this should make sense. The opening to Katamari Damacy Reroll is much like Uncle Grandpa in the way that it blasts people with bright colors, odd mash-ups of animals flying across the screen and so much more. This is all entertaining and flows right into the gameplay too. The rooms are brightly decorated and seemingly cluttered with various items to pick up.
The only downsides to the game that I could pick up on were the odd way the joysticks control the movement and camera on the Switch. The left joystick controlled movement while the right determined the forward and backward movement perhaps. So getting around was actually difficult, especially when the timer is going. Although unclear if this mechanic is supposed to be a bit out of control, somehow I was still able to get around. I wasn’t collecting items as fast as I wanted but I managed to hit the goals in time. The only other problem was too much talking. The cutscenes seemed to never end or get to the point a bit quicker.
There is so much time that can be spent in the game. For people that like a challenge this will keep them busy for a while as they work their way through the levels trying to make their ball bigger and bigger. Much like the game Tasty Planet, the whole goal is to roll up everything you can until you pretty much take over the planet.
If you’ve played this in the past, the new release also has a two player mode as well when played on tabletop mode. So now the insanity can be shared. Compete against each other to see who wins. A good way to get ahead is by using the Prince Dash by shaking the controller. No matter who wins, just have fun.
9/10
Available on: PC and Nintendo Switch
