Thursday, 11 August 2016 00:00

Copy Kitty Early Access Review

Written by

Defeat enemies, take their powers, and combine their powers to make better powers. Sweet.

The first screen is for key-mapping, which is convenient but seems to say "this will not be intuitive." Sure enough, I end up changing the keys around a few times before settling into a scheme that makes sense to me.

Artwork is cute--feels kind of Homestuck-esque (not a word), and music is catchy. Levels have little to differentiate one from the next, they do see a change in themes from time to time, and though that's refreshing, it’s not enough for variety’s sake. That being said, the fact that they have names reminiscent of Donkey Kong Country makes up for it. Some.

I'm a cat-girl, which is obviously great (meow) but the story is vague: starting a new game feels like jumping into its middle. Yet it all makes sense somehow, at least as much sense as you can find in cyberspace cat-girls, though the cheerleading is a tad too much. There's a bit of "believe in yourself!" and "real heroes do this, not that!" It isn’t overpowering, but it isn’t motivational either.

From level designs to combat mechanics, Copy Kitty feels a lot like Mega Man (robot-handling + weaponized woodland critters) with a dose of Geometry Wars (chaos, COLORS EVERYWHERE). It can get a little confusing at times, but after a few levels, I learned what to look for and what to avoid (almost everything?). Playing as Cat, your default character, weapon combos happen automatically. A good feature to start. I wish there would have been more combos though, because that’s where much of the fun lies. Getting the hang of your fighting style, through weapon and combo picks, ends too soon. Why? Because your weapons reset at each new level.

At this stage in development, only two levels give you the choice to pick your starting weapons, and those levels were the best in the game! More of that, please!

A handful of weapon combos are enormous fun, lightning ones being my favorites, even if their names are… a bit odd? Crystal Light…?!

End-game bosses are freakin' sweet.

Exciting mechanics such as toying with time and gravity make for good combat. I wish these features, which bring much dimension to gameplay, would have come in earlier rather than later. Enemies share much in common, to the extent that changing strategies isn’t necessary, and the challenge lies in hitting them from different angles. Some bosses are tough, some are button-mashing cakewalks, and end-game ones have that perfect balance: impossible at first, until you figure out the trick, at which point they become difficult (BIG Mega Man feel there). One defiant challenger is especially great: he keeps coming back for several showdowns, with each encounter being different from the last.

The best part? Your uncle.

He seems to be a computer-simulated cricket wearing a top hat, which is swell! His name is Savant, and that’s a bit unnerving… Play his character though, and it will make sense. His fighting-style is considerably different from Cat's, and much closer to what I was hoping for in terms of gameplay. Savant makes a play through difficult, but so much more rewarding; you actually have to think about weapons combinations for a given situation, instead of just blindly throwing everything you’ve got along the way.

More problem-solving, less head-butting my way through levels regardless of powers I use, is good. Especially when the setup for gameplay is so well done: screens are loaded with enemies, and you keep shooting until they’re dead.  They drop; you grab the loot. And who doesn’t like loot?

Uncategorized Thoughts

-I don't think the professor's math checks out.

-Dodge? Heroes don't dodge.

-How much of this level can I kick apart? All of it? Good.

-Omigod penguin bombs.

- DID I JUST DO A F**KING DRAGON PUNCH?! SHORYUKEN, MUTHAF*KAS!

-How did I just kill everyone?

-Medieval robots? Yes, please.

-DODGING IS CRUCIAL TO SURVIVAL!

-Oh hey, I finally filled that combo meter ON THE LAST WORLD OF THE GAME.

7

The Verdict

Copy Kitty is a great blend of the 2D action platformers we love, but at its current stage of Early Access, is a slugfest that doesn't take full advantage of its main mechanic. If you miss old Mega Man, definitely pick this up now. Otherwise, give it the time for a full release.

Read 2021 times
Joe Pilato

Joe Pilato works as an engineer and pub quiz host while developing his skills as a standup comic and storyteller. You may occasionally find him wandering the streets of NYC looking for adventure or possibly running into the woods to hide from civilization for days at a time.

twitter.com/TheJoePilato

Media