LocoRoco Remastered: PS4 Review

LocoRoco Remastered: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Developed by Japan Studio

Colourful and occasionally annoying in its brightness, LocoRoco Remastered feels like a mix of the Lums from the Rayman series got integrated with Sounds Shapes.

There's a loose story to LocoRoco involving the Earth being attacked and it being upto you to save the day by collecting Lums-style critters to create a massive spacehopper style creature by the end of the level.
Not being familiar with the 2006 PSP version of the game, LocoRoco Remastered is actually a pleasantly colourful surprise that leaps off the screen with real gusto.

It has an innate charm as you use L1 and R1 to negotiate your way around the simple side scrolling levels, controlling the environment and making them roll. Despite each of the short levels growing a little trickier every time, there's a real re-playability to this remaster. Vibrant primary colours spring off the screen, and look crisp and zesty as the game goes on.

It helps there's an annoyingly irritating set of songs (made largely of nonsense) as the game goes on, but the nonsensical nature of this part of the game mean it's likely to greatly appeal to the younger generation plonked in front of it (in much the same way the Teletubbies scored a career out of their sparse colourful lunacy).

And at random points in the remaster, the singing will take place in the vicinity of the controller's speaker, meaning that in small ways, the game tries to come to life.

It's a major plus that the game is so colourful to behold, but yet somehow also manages to feel squishy and malleable on the screen. Every time you inadvertently lose one of the critters you've collected, it feels like a body blow, and only encourages you to play the level again.

And speed's quite common in the game as well, with each of the 40 levels feeling enough of a challenge and yet brief enough to engage on all levels and with all ages.

There are mini-games to experience too, but it's the general game itself with its cutesy touches that makes LocoRoco Remastered a lo-cost game to invest in.

LocoRoco Remastered is proof that when remasters are done with a bit of care, and no real tinkering to the game's MO, the experience can feel fresh again. Pleasingly disposable and yet presenting enough of a challenge here and there, this is worth frittering away an afternoon on during the upcoming winter months.

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