Welcome to my review of Kao the Kangaroo which is developed and published by Tate Multimedia (Urban Trial series, Kao the Kangaroo series). The game is available now on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, and the Nintendo Switch. For the purpose of my review I played Kao on the PlayStation 5.
Kao, The Kangaroo Who Could
Kao the Kangaroo takes us on an adventure of a lifetime, but it’s not the first. There has been a number of Kao games on many different platforms, spanning over 2 decades.
So with that in mind, how does Kao the Kangaroo hold up as a new game release in 2022?
Continue reading to find out. You can also check out our previous reviews.
The Game
We start off the game in Kao’s humble home being told by momma Kao that we’re not allowed to go on our big adventure with our powerful boxing gloves, named the Eternal Gloves. The gloves hold a mysterious power that Kao’s father knew about, but his father has disappeared so we must find him. No, he didn’t go to the shop for a packet of cigarettes, apparently.
We soon meet our master, who is another marsupial from down under. The mighty yet cute Koala!
The game is packed with fun for all the family, and it pays homage to the classic platformers of old. It shows too, but in a good way. I really enjoy the gameplay in Kao, the way you travel through levels reminds me of games such as Yooka Laylee, collecting diamonds, coins, and hidden items. Some of the items are three letters that are hidden around the level, these three letters are of course K A and O.
You can go back into each level should you miss and items on your first attempt at it. Combat is quite fun, and feels quite fluid. The controls are easy to grasp so players of all ages will find the game easy to play.
When you get to certain points in the game you will stumble upon a “boss fight”. The boss fights aren’t too difficult once you’ve worked out the “pattern” that they have.
The game also has a nice little feature where you have to find a certain number of runes to be able to enter new levels. These runes are scattered around the world of the game so keep your eyes wide open to try and find them.
Look & Sound
I know I say this a lot, and I really need to work on my library of words more… But this game is gorgeous. Seriously, I’m not just saying this when I say it. I mean it.
This game is beautiful on the PlayStation 5, it runs really well and doesn’t appear to dip below 60fps from what I can tell. That’s without any special magic gadgets of course.
The sound in Kao the Kangaroo is also fantastic. The music and sound effects really are a delight to your ears. You will not be disappointed here, especially if playing with a headset or ear buds.
Length & Replayability
Kao the Kangaroo will see you through quite a few hours, it’ll take you a good 13 hours, at least. However, this is definitely a game you could sink many hours into just running around having fun.
The game also has 16 trophies for you to unlock, that includes the coveted platinum trophy for those who want to “hunt” it. Whilst that may not seem like many trophies, I’m grateful that it still has a platinum.
Conclusions
Kao the Kangaroo is a brilliant game that pays homage to the classics such as Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, and of course the original Kao games. It’s great fun for all the family and is a nice change of pace from the more frantic games available at the moment.
I give Kao the Kangaroo a score of 9/10.
A code was kindly provided for us to review this.
