Cash Cow DX review

Once employed as a 3D animator for Ubisoft, developer Sebastian Kostka deserted corporate life for indie development. So far, his solo works (working as pixel games SARL-S) have been moderately impressive. While Sigi – A Fart for Melusina might have been a pretty basic platformer, Sir Lovelot flaunted engaging level design and visuals that invited comparison to the lushness of Rayman Legends.

But it was Donut Dodo that forced me to really take notice, with a dazzling recreation of the look and sound of an early 80’s arcade machine. Like Donkey Kong, Billy the Baker clambered up ladders and leaped over foes across a series of single-screen stages to rescue his love, Bella. Playing it felt like finding the source code for a coin-op that got canceled at the last minute.

Udder Enjoyment

Pleasingly, Cash Cow DX extends Kostka’s reverence of the ‘insert coin’ era. You play as the game’s eponymous milk-maker, who has to gather her lost money. Currency is scattered copiously across the game’s horizontally scrolling stages, much like dots in Pac-Man. And like Namco’s 1980 classic, you’ll need to gather every last piece to progress. The hook here is that collecting steadily increases a score multiplier, goading you into finding an efficient route. Cunningly, gems emerge around different parts of the playfield, tempting you with the possibility of a “happy hour” that temporarily surges point values exponentially.

Cash Cow moves much brisker than your average bovine. Your generous leap allows you to easily jump across gaps and roving enemies, and the game even provides a warning signal as they approach off-screen. However, learning how to navigate each level requires some old-fashioned trial and error. Downward ramps propel you across gaps, vertical warp-tunnels shift your elevation, and Sonic the Hedgehog-style loops only allow you to collect cash from one direction.

A Punch to the Chambered Gut

Later, trampolines will bounce around you like Mappy while ziplines and minecarts will slide you around, each helping to keep a swift pace. Games like Donkey Kong habitually give you several seconds to react to danger. But Cash Cow DX forces you to make life-or-death decisions much faster.

As such, expect one significant deviation from most coin-ops: early games will end in seconds. Coin-op machines cultivated confidence before turning up the intensity. But Cash Cow DX will release you directly into a simmering pot of enemies. But as you learn how to circumnavigate each level, progress grows easier. And this is when Cash Cow sinks its hooves into you, if you let it.

Retro Affection is Requisite

The absence of any continues signals Kostka wanting players to appreciate the path toward proficiency. So, if you are easily frustrated or baffled by the allure of games that are centered on scoring, Cash Cow DX might not be the best investment.

But for others, pixel games SARL-S’s latest will be a satisfying throwback to a time when learning how to evade a game’s abundance of dangers made you feel like a digital Indiana Jones. Just like the old days, Cash Cow DX’s enemy pigs and environmental hazards don’t let up, making for a fun and frantic throwback.

Cash Cow DX was played on Switch with review code provided by the publisher.