Review for New Super Lucky's Tale. Game for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, the video game was released on 21/08/2019 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 31/12/2019
In recent years we have seen a proliferation of games that take up and develop classic genres, such as 2D platformers, metroidvania or roguelikes. As for 3D platformers, however, we had a general shortage of noteworthy titles, with the exception of Yooka-Laylee and his follow-up Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. New Super Lucky's Tale fits in as an exponent of this genre perfectly aligned with the nostalgic trend.
The original Lucky's Tale originated as an Oculus Rift launch title in 2016, therefore conceived as an experimental title for VR. The following year he abandoned this dimension to come out with an Xbox One sequel called Super Lucky's Tale, in a much more classic guise. Unfortunately, the game suffered from various problems that precluded a good reception from the critics. For this reason, the Playful Corp. development team took their time to rework and refine their creature, finally churning out New Super Lucky's Tale, its most optimized form and enriched with content first on Nintendo Switch and finally also on PlayStation 4.
In short, a path that is not easy, but which highlights how much Playful Corp. believes in its creation, which despite not posing as revolutionary certainly deserves the attention of fans of the genre.
The protagonist of the game is Lucky, an anthropomorphic fox who aspires to become one of the Guardians, that is, a team of heroic individuals whose task is to oversee the balance and peace of the worlds. This peace, however, is destined to break when the powerful feline magician Jinx arrives, determined to take possession of the Book of Ages, an artifact of great power that would guarantee him control of the worlds. The Guardians confront the sorcerer, but are defeated and scattered among the worlds, while the Book of Ages loses its pages. Fortunately Lucky has recovered the Book, and will embark on the undertaking of recovering the pages to reconnect the worlds and find his companions.
As it is easy to see the story that is the background to the adventure of our fox hero certainly cannot be defined as articulate or profound, but the rest is not felt the need. Lucky's colorful environments and perpetually cheerful expression make it clear from the first seconds that the title is designed for a young audience. The most disenchanted players might not bear the light and laughing style of New Super Lucky's Tale, but our advice is to let yourself go to its joviality, capable of distracting and improving the mood.
Graphically the game has been remodeled and improved significantly compared to its first incarnation: the worlds are even more colorful and defined, the characters that populate them and Lucky himself now have a definitely better performance. The developers have also worked on the frame rate issues that the original suffered from, now presenting a more optimized version.
The game bursts with a cartoonish and light-hearted style, enhanced by the cheerful and lively soundtrack, even if the quality of the compositions did not remain particularly impressed.
The title is presented as a classic platform of the collectathon type, that is, more focused on the collection of objects within the levels rather than simply on achieving a final goal. New Super Lucky's Tale therefore follows the lesson of the various Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro the Dragon etc. immersing ourselves in thematic environments each containing a maximum of four pages to collect: a "main" page that ideally corresponds to the objective of the level, one that can be unlocked by collecting the LUCKY letters, one by collecting 300 coins and one hidden. Collecting pages will allow us to move between the game worlds and continue the adventure until the final confrontation with Jinx.
Lovers of the genre will surely recognize a familiar structure, as well as simple and intuitive game mechanics: Lucky is able to perform the classic double jump, a tail swipe to attack enemies or extend his thrust in the air, and has the curious peculiarity of being able to "immerse" underground to find buried objects and avoid enemy attacks. In this version of the game the slide has also been introduced, which works practically like running underground but on surfaces that are impossible to dig like rock and wood; an addition that amplifies Lucky's dynamism and will be perfect for players who prefer to play with uninterrupted flow.
While referring to classic titles at the turn of the 2000s, the dynamic pace of New Super Lucky's Tale is still modern, a bit like Super Mario 3D World managed to do. The level design is accurate and effective, but what struck us most is the variety of situations that the title offers. The levels are fairly varied in their structure depending on the circumstance. In some we are totally free to explore, others have a classic 2,5D structure, in still others Lucky runs automatically and you have to concentrate as much on the timing of jumps and moves to avoid obstacles and grab as many objects as possible on the fly, still others have an isometric structure. There are also numerous mini-games that will progressively test both your control over Lucky and your mental elasticity.
The game itself it does not present a great difficulty, if not towards the final stages, to confirm that the title is designed to be usable by younger players. To reach its minimum conclusion, about ten hours are sufficient, which obviously will increase if one undertakes the satisfactory undertaking of collecting all the pages of the Book of Ages in all levels. Furthermore, after the end credits of the game, you get access to an extra world that contains certainly more demanding challenges.
The improvements introduced in New Super Lucky's Tale are truly remarkable. In addition to the graphic readjustment, the controls have been significantly improved (which were one of the most incisive problems of the original), even if in some situations the management of Lucky still remains “slippery”. The camera was finally made 100% controllable, unlike the limited management seen in the past, a choice that was rightly unacceptable for a modern 3D platformer. New levels, challenges and content have also been added. Finally, by spending the coins found in the various levels it is possible to customize Lucky's appearance with even more outfits.
New Super Lucky's Tale is the revised, corrected and implemented edition of the original title released nearly three years ago; not a sequel, yet much more than a definitive remaster or edition. It is the result of a genuine commitment by Playful Corp. to make the most of their creature by learning from their mistakes. Lucky may not be the new Super Mario, but his adventure is enjoyable and genuinely fun for any platform lover looking for a good pastime without great pretensions.
► New Super Lucky's Tale is a platform-type game developed by Playful Corp. for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, the video game was released on 21/08/2019 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 31/12/2019
