Not Quite Domesticated: Kukoos – Lost Pets

Kukoos – Lost Pets has the appearance of a top-tier platformer. But a multitude of blemishes keep the effort from offering uninterrupted enjoyment.

A well-designed 3D platformer can be almost a magical experience. From Banjo-Kazooie, Super Mario 3D World, and even New Super Lucky’s Tale, exploring methodically made environments, hunting down arrays of collectables, and exterminating pugnacious enemies can feel exhilarating. At its best, the genre delivers a sense of ‘flow’, allowing players to become mentally immersed as they survey a game’s stages and master its play mechanics.

Undoubtedly, the aforementioned titles were relished by the twenty-five member team of Brazil-based Petit Fabrik. Delve into the Early Access release of Kukoos – Lost Pets and you’ll discover most of the essentials. Here, the game’s cartoonish characters and special ability-possessing pets work cooperatively to make their way through each levels meandering paths. Unsurprisingly, you’ll sporadically slow your progression as your tackle some lightweight puzzling, using involving your companion’s aptitudes.

How Not to Write a Script

But before getting there, Kukoos makes a troubling first impression. The game still has three to four months of additional developer. But at present, the writing has an insistent tone and the cinematics aren’t as humorous as intended. The game’s tutorial uses phonetic spelling to capture the childish pronunciation of “fwiendly”. But any kid friendless is tossed out the window when you confront a stage titled, “Someone Pissed the Gods”. I wasn’t sure if Kukoos was trying to mimic or satirize low-budget kid’s entertainment. But I can tell you it doesn’t succeed at either.

Strip away the amateurish voice acting and rambling exposition and you’ll find some embryonic ideas. The tutorial hints at a competition between different Kukoos and their personal pets. With its circus-like mood and bright colors it looks like Fall Guys for solitary players. But after a giant green frog bearing a magical collar tries to get other animals to wear its ability-enhancing band, trouble ensues. I thought Lost Pets would explore notions of captivity, animal welfare, or the Faustian deal that new technology often offers. Instead, I got expositional filler.  On the upside, there’s not too much of it.

Walking Near the Edge

The cringe-inducing storytelling would be forgivable if Kukoos’ action was engaging. But regretfully, gratification isn’t consistent. The game’s first world tosses you in darkened spaces with a pet that can illuminate the space around you. Occasionally, you’ll use your companion to rotate parts of the environment, completing a circuit of bright blue light. There’s even a secondary command, where you can make your pet emit a glaring flash, temporarily stunning foes that can be vaulted on or dashed into.

But there are also some fundamental problems. Intermittently, you’ll have to extinguish lighting to make it past thorny serpent-like vines. Leaping across darkened areas in expectedly frustrating, as you can’t see elevations or enemies. Even when you defeat foes, Kukoos sometimes leaves them wandering the screen in a vulnerable state. Years of platforming experience will likely mess with your head as you avoid these now-innocuous beings. Moreover, expect to fall repeatedly and be returned to the last checkpoint. Given the lack of any kind of camera control and a shortage of environmental safeguarding on pathways, tumbles are Kukoos’ leading cause of death.

But It Occasionally Gets a Bit Better

Across the game’s current twenty-stage campaign, Petit Fabrik bring a number of new ideas. The second world offers a deployable platform and swinging attachment, adding a dose of verticality as you catapult yourself up walkways. Later, you’ll earn a crab-hat that can collect and fling back projectiles, which endow Lost Pets with a light gunplay. But each new assistant/apparatus ushers in issues, so when wearing the crab-hat, it’s far too easy to get with an enemy bullet and knocked off a platform. While none of these completely ruin Kukoos, they ebb away at the game’s enjoyment and inhibit a sense of momentum as you make your way through each level.

Arguably, Kukoos – Lost Pets most notable allure are the game’s good-looking visuals. From gloomy caves with falling stalactites to a colorful stages where you bounce on confectionaries, the journey is consistently eye-grabbing, rivaling the efforts of the best 3D platformers. But aurally, the game isn’t as auspicious. There are some enchanting tracks, with the game opening up with wonderfully melodic song with Middle Eastern vibes. But then, Lost Pets presents a refrain that sounds like its from children’s programming.

Conclusion

Consistency is an issue across Kukoos – Lost Pets. There are moments when the game charms. Stages occasionally feel fun and frantic and there are regular injection of novelty, such as the end-of-game vehicular section. But as present, Kukoos – Lost Pets needs a lot of granular work to ensure that stages offer fluidity. Too many imperfections mean these pets don’t quite feel domesticated.

Kukoos – Lost Pets was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.