Kick & Fennick review (PSVita)

There are lots of high quality platformer games on the Vita such as LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway and there are also already some really great duos like Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank. These are all well loved, and in some cases long running franchises. So for a new platformer it is always going to be quite a challenge to stand out. So has indie developer Jaywalkers Interactive done enough to get Kick & Fennick noticed?

The game begins with you, as a young boy, waking up in what looks like some sort of cryogenics pod. You wander around a ruined building and travel up and down in some fully functioning elevators, which considering the state of the building is some pretty hard wearing engineering. One of the first things you’ll notice is that you don’t seem to have any ability to jump; yes, you read that correctly, a platformer game where the main character can’t jump, it’s definitely an interesting idea and sets it apart from other platformers.

After a little bit of wandering about you come across a rifle and a cute little flying robot. You don’t get given much time to get acquainted before a huge robot attacks, the robot looks a bit like the Enforcement Droid from Robocop and acts like one as well. You fire the rifle at the Enforcement Droid but the recoil blows you out of the room and into the path of lasers. The little robot saves you but is left with a damaged core and so the two of you set off on a journey across the city to the Core Tower in search of a replacement.

The introduction leaves lots of intriguing unanswered questions. Why did the cryogenic pod open? How come you can fall from incredible heights and not die? Why are all the buildings in ruins? And why are all these robots attacking you? I also find it strange that at no point are you told which character is Kick and which is Fennick (FYI Kick is the boy). Well neither Kick nor Fennick offer up any explanations; Kick seems to be mute and Fennick only occasionally bleeps at you.

This is a classic side scrolling platformer but with a really interesting control system. You can’t jump but you can use the rifle to propel yourself across distances or to defend yourself against robots. You’re limited to just two shots of the rifle before you have to touch down and reload so can’t just fly around as you please though. You control the rifle by either using the touchscreen or the right analog stick. Personally I found it easier to switch between the two and use the touchscreen to jump and the analog stick to fire at enemies. When you initially start playing you’ll probably wish for the inclusion of a normal jump button to get over small objects instead of accidentally shooting yourself into the path of lasers but it doesn’t take too long to get used to the controls and the game introduces you to new obstacles gently.

Just because the game introduces things to you gently doesn’t mean that it’s easy, the difficulty ramps up over the course of the game. Bounce pads will probably be the biggest cause of death among players as trying to judge the right angles can be incredibly frustrating and sometimes I felt like I got through levels more by luck than actual skill. At times the difficulty can feel a little unbalanced, in some levels I died over and over again only to find the next few levels a breeze to get through.

It seems to be an unwritten rule that every platformer game has to have a water section and Kick & Fennick doesn’t disappoint. In some games water levels can be a pain in the backside with sluggish controls and the ever present threat of running out of oxygen. Thankfully Kick already knows how to swim and you don’t have to worry about running out of oxygen as Fennick wraps himself round your face like a little robotic Alien facehugger. Although in this case there is no robotic chestburster waiting to pop out, but if Jaywalker ever makes a sequel then maybe that’ll be the surprise twist. The water sections in the game are really fun, unlike on land you are not limited to just two shots of the rifle so you can shoot as many times as you like to quickly blast around obstacles and it feels really fast paced, almost like you’re flying through the water. There are also a few levels where you’re on high speed ramps and are literally flying through the air dodging robots and lasers with lightning quick reflexes needed. This game really is at its best in levels like this and it does get the adrenaline pumping. There aren’t many of these levels which is a shame but I suppose it’s good to leave us wanting more.

Screenshots don’t really give this game justice. When you play you really do feel like a small child in a massive city. The dramatic camera angles in certain sections show this off to great effect. There are occasionally times where I feel that the game gets a little bit too wrapped up in showing you a beautiful camera angle of the skyline instead of what’s actually in front of you but thankfully the camera angle is right more often than it’s wrong.

The boss fights at the end of each chapter are a great highlight and they do feel tense. The music and background environments do a great job of setting the scene and making you feel like you are fighting for your life. You have to use all the tricks that you’ve learnt in previous levels to survive and you will feel elated when you succeed. Again it’s a pity that there aren’t a few more of these fights as each one is different and it’s a good change from the normal levels.

In total there are 5 chapters and 45 levels to play through. This is only likely to take you around 6-8 hours but there are 50 little gears and 1 special gear to find in every level so this helps to extend the playtime. There are also 3 difficulty levels to try your hand at. Hard really is quite difficult, especially in the later levels as it removes the line assist when aiming the rifle but completing it will leave you with a great sense of pride.

Overall Kick & Fennick is quite an impressive little game; you can clearly see that Jaywalkers Interactive has put a lot of love into it. The music and graphics are definitely a work of art and wouldn’t be out of place in a bigger budget title. There are some really great moments like the boss fights and water levels which make you feel like you’re flying high it’s just a pity that the game doesn’t last a little bit longer. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Jaywalkers Interactive do next.