PC User Reviews

Oh man, I love the first two Katamari Damacy games, and even Wattam was fantastic. But this "game" is just incredibly boring. I understand that young children (3-6 years old) are supposed to be the target audience here - however, keep in mind there is no voice acting, kids have to be able to read already or adults playing along is a prerequisite. But as soon as kids go to school and learn to read: I can't imagine that in an era where kids grow up with Fortnite and ****, they would be really excited for this slow paced, stretched game which has weird controls, movement and camera. From a game design perspective, this is the bare minimum to be considered a game with no distinct fun gameplay loop. A few very very simple minigames that are poorly balanced and cherry on top: trying to reach first place and get a price is super frustrating. I can't imagine kids to actually achieve that. The decision to keep the camera static is awful, as navigating through the city often becomes unnecessarily complicated when the perspective suddenly flips completely and even lead to some motion sickness from time to time. The presentation, narrative premise, charme and music are genuinely solid. But then the same two songs always play at the beginning and end of each chapter. Why not introduce new songs that match each chapter's mood? Overall, the game feels stretched in many places, and many design choices make it seem like the title was produced quickly and rather cheaply. Even from a ludonarrative perspective I see a clash: For a game that is about "you are perfect as you are" there is a too strong emphasis on what you wear and how you look - that in life seemingly one of the most important things isto buy/consume stuff with money. I firmly believe that games designed for children can and should be fun for adults too— something Nintendo has proven time and time again. But here, things are repeated far too often—whether it's dialogue or interaction within the world—without any of the elements truly being FUN. Not for kids and not for adults. A real shame.