2017’s endearing-but-average Super Lucky’s Tale served as a loving throwback to the bygone era of platforming collect-em-ups. Its sequel New Super Lucky’s Tale is another love letter to a type of game that is far too rare these days but it remains approachable by genre veterans and newcomers alike. The first level alone is enough to evoke memories of titles like Spyro the Dragon, Donkey Kong 64 and Super Mario 64.
A Storybook Plot
New Super Lucky’s Tale places you in the role of Lucky Swiftail, a young fox pulled into the pages of the Book of Ages. More than just a storybook, the Book of Ages is a magical tome that acts as a portal between worlds. Lucky’s older sister Lyra is the leader of the Guardians, a group dedicated to the protection of the Book of Ages. They seek to keep it safe from Jinx, a former Guardian and powerful sorcerer set on taking the Book for himself to increase his own power.
The characters are an assortment of animals, worms, robots, and even ghosts. Jinx is a cat, and together with his children—the evil Kitty Litter—he seeks to rule all of the known worlds. The opening cutscene shows the sorcerer almost achieving this victory but the Book of Ages awakens its power at the last moment. Whether it is protecting itself or the Guardians isn’t clear, but its portals pull Jinx, his children, and Lucky into the pages.
New-But-Familiar Gameplay
Anyone who has played a 3D collect-em-up before will find themselves quickly adapting to the platforming rhythm of New Super Lucky’s Tale. Lucky has a few basic moves: swiping with his tail, headstomping (dot com) and a diving attack. There are a few areas with loose soil where Lucky can burrow under enemies and attack as he leaps up from the dirt.
The game is divided into five main worlds (with a sixth bonus world unlocked after completing the story), each of which acts as a hub for individual levels. The goal of each level is to find the missing pages of the Book of Ages contained within. There are four to find per level, each of which is granted by completing the same four objectives in every stage. Finding the exit, some mild puzzling, collecting letters and collecting coins all earn players a leaf.
Other pages are scattered throughout the hub worlds, obtainable through a set of puzzles. Some are standard-but-fun slide minigames that require a bit of creative thinking. The game offers some labyrinth-like puzzles where Lucky is trapped in a ball and you must roll him through a maze while dodging obstacles and collecting coins. There are also a few 2D levels that play a lot like an endless runner, moving forward and dodging obstacles with no ability to go backwards.
Variable Level of Variety
Progression to the next world is locked behind a boss door that requires a certain number of pages to unlock. Each boss is unique with plenty of character setting them apart. The battles are not difficult and consist of easy-to-learn patterns but there is enough variety to keep them fresh.
But aside from bosses, there isn’t a wide enough selection of enemies and many of our foes are genre tropes. The use of bees, ghosts and worms comes across as lazy, as does the reskinning of many enemies.
Cute but Clunky
From a visual standpoint, there is a lot to like about New Super Lucky’s Tale. At the start of each level, Lucky turns and addresses the camera, inviting the player to join him on the adventure. On the other hand, the graphics are not nearly as smooth and polished as they could be. It looks like it belongs on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.
That said, despite the sometimes clunky art style, the game ran beautifully. At no point did frames drop, even when there was a lot of action on screen. While the game will win no awards for groundbreaking graphics, New Super Lucky’s Tale looks acceptable.
A Fun Romp
Despite the lack of difficulty in its short runtime, the journey through the five worlds of New Super Lucky’s Tale was an entertaining experience. NSLT offers a lot of appeal for completionists and people that enjoy collecting every item. The bonus sixth world ramps difficulty up to a much higher level than the rest of the game and even with a playtime of around seven hours,
New Super Lucky’s Tale has the sort of charm and mass appeal that many games in today’s world lack. It’s a great fit for someone that wants a relaxing game or for a younger gamer looking for a new game to keep them entertained.
The humour is also worth mentioning, as I laughed out loud several times at the dialogue and enemies, especially the Kitty Litter. I dare anyone not to laugh at the first boss, a master of Mew Shu Martial Arts. The sheer number of cat-related puns are worth a playthrough alone.
Review copy provided by PR