NOTs
Sense of fulfillment
After completing the rather difficult levels on offer in Cloudberry Kingdom players will get a sense of fulfillment but not enough. With even the shortest levels causing a number of fails once they are completed, you would expect to feel like you have achieved something by beating it. Alas, the next level is always on the screen to quickly, facing players with another challenge before the victory of the last one can be enjoyed. If you take those couple of seconds rest you may have already failed the next level once and because of this, there is just no time to revel in the previous completion. Even a small screen saying “Level Passed!” after a section would improve this and also give players a sometimes craved momentary pause.
Lackluster Music
While it is occasionally tempo rising the score just doesn’t do enough to raise the fast-paced feeling of the levels. Bearing in mind that it is both an indie title and the product of crowd funding, the music score was never going to match that of AAA hit titles but the overall presentation would have been upgraded with a better soundtrack. It isn’t necessary to blow the budget on well known artists, just a soundtrack with better songs would benefit the title.
Possible Frustration
There are numerous ways to fail. Choose from falling, being fried by lasers, caught up by a spike wall, attacked by various flying animals, spiraling fire walls, serpents, swinging spiked balls and the list just goes on. As the ways to get Bob killed mounts up, it is easy to see how the game can be frustrating. Players can be completing levels and sections fine then suddenly a new obstacle or combination of obstacles in put in their way and then it is easy to get stuck. Sometimes it is hard to find a way to overcome a trap and inevitably this will cause frustration. I can see some gamers being put off when they do get stuck with no signs of getting past the level but I would strongly recommend players to keep trying as those extremely hard levels you get stuck on are the ones where you get a sense of fulfillment; even if another level is thrust at you straight away.
Verdict
Cloudberry Kingdom is a fantastic indie title that manages to do exactly what the developers wanted. It presents a great challenge but also remains fun even when you have attempted the same level numerous times. Multiplayer is where the game shines and if you ever have the opportunity to play the game with the full four players take the chance and you won’t regret it. There are a few issues that let the game down and improvements that could have been made, like the music score, nevertheless the game is entertaining and is a solidly built game.
[Editor’s Note: Cloudberry Kingdom was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
