Nikoderiko: The Magical World

Just a few weeks ago, I reviewed an impressive new game called Akimbot, a well-made 3D platformer that was clearly inspired by the long-running Ratchet & Clank series. Not to be outdone, first-time developer VEA Games has brought us Nikoderiko: The Magical World, a fantastic throwback platformer that combines the best elements of Donkey Kong Country and Crash Bandicoot. It’s a game that seamlessly moves from 2D to 3D, all while filling the screen with vibrant colors and comical bad guys that are bursting with personality. Is this the best platformer of the year? That’s what we’re about to find out when I review Nikoderiko: The Magical World.

Let me introduce you to Niko and Luna, a pair of mongoose treasure-hunters who target a magical island for their next score. However, things go awry when a Bowser-like villain name Grimbald sets fire to their airship and steals the treasure. Now it’s up to the duo to run, jump and even ride through seven colorful worlds in order to help their animal friends and take back the ancient relics that they stole in the first place.

The set-up may not be especially original, but this is one of those games that will suck you in right from the very first level. As a side-scroller, Nikoderiko is more than a little reminiscent of the Donkey Kong Country series. You run around the tropical setting picking up countless items, spelling words and, just to hammer the comparison home, ride on the back of everything from Boaris the Boar to a giant bat.

What sets this game apart from Nintendo’s classic franchise is that Nikoderiko will occasionally turn into a 3D game that will immediately remind you of the Crash Bandicoot franchise. The effect is seamless, taking us from a side-scroller to a 3D platformer without missing a step. This allows us to not only see the world and bad guys from an all-new perspective, but also changes how you interact with the level.

As a critic, it’s easy to compare a game like this to the classic platformers that came before it, but the developers at VEA Games have clearly learned from the best. No matter if you’re running from left-to-right or through a 3D forest, the levels are both gorgeous and, most importantly, fun to play. There are all kinds of hidden collectibles to pick up and secret areas to find, as well as multiple paths to take and different ways to tackle the obstacles. Maybe you want to explore every nook and cranny with Niko and Luna, or perhaps you just want to speed through it by riding one of your trusty mounts. Best of all, you can bring in a second player, reuniting the treasure-hunting duo and making this one of the year’s best co-op experiences.

It's not just the levels that impress, but also the enemies. You’ve seen these type of animal bad guys in other mascot games, but rarely do they have this much of a personality. These villains are beautifully rendered, with expressive animations and different types of weaknesses. For example, sometimes you’ll need to slide into enemies to defeat them, while others will need a butt-stomp to the head or maybe a little of both. The game is constantly throwing newer and harder enemies at us, and I couldn’t wait to study them closer when the game switched to 3D. And you better believe that this extends to many of the boss fights. Each battle plays out a little different, forcing you to change up your strategy from one boss to the next. While I won’t go as far as to say that the bad guys upstage Niko and Luna, they come surprisingly close.

A lot of this is because Nikoderiko is an absolutely stunning game from beginning to end. For an indie game made by a first-time developer, I’m honestly stunned at how good everything looks. It’s not just the vibrant colors and expressive animation, but also the layers of detail that have gone into each of the different worlds. While none of the stage types are especially new or different from your typical platformer, VEA Games has found ways to give each a unique personality. There are some real surprises here, and none of the stages play out exactly how you expect. They’re long, exciting and full of charm. As a platformer, I had more fun playing through Nikoderiko than either of the most recent Donkey Kong Country or Crash Bandicoot games, and I have a hunch that this was made for a fraction of the cost.

I cannot stress enough just how much the shifting from 2D to 3D helps set this game apart. This is hardly the first game to try this, but very few do it as well as Nikoderiko. The shift in perspective keeps you on your toes, and there’s always something exciting to see and do when we shift to 3D. It helps that the gameplay is easy and responsive in both styles, never once missing a beat. If you’re a pro at the side-scrolling stages, then you’ll have no problem fighting off the animal enemies when the perspective suddenly changes. The controls are finely tuned, with all of the moves easy to pull off. When I died, it was almost always my fault. This really is a great platformer.

That said, it’s clear the game is aimed at a younger audience. While some of the later levels may take you a few tries to beat, the overall game is a bit on the easy side. The checkpointing is more than generous and both Niko and Luna have unlimited lives. There are also plenty of health items to pick up and multiple paths, which can sometimes help you bypass some of the tougher obstacles. If you’re a longtime fan of the genre, then you’re going to have no problem speeding through this game in around four or five hours.

It's also worth pointing out that the game has some weird issues with the audio, specifically the music. While I generally like the soundtrack, I couldn’t help but notice that it skips and stutters around when the action heats up. And it’s not just when there are a lot of enemies on the screen, but also during the cinema scenes. It could be that this is a problem isolated to the PlayStation 5 version of the game, but it was bad enough to make me want to mute the game after only a few stages. This is a weird issue and one I haven’t run into with other games.

One could make the argument that there isn’t a whole lot that is actually new about Nikoderiko, and that’s true to an extent. But what this game lacks in originality, it more than makes up for with expertly-crafted stages, gorgeous graphics and a pair of likable heroes that could easily sustain a whole series of sequels. This is a confident platformer that takes elements from the best to create a game that rarely falters. It may not reinvent the genre, but it doesn’t need to. Sometimes just being a great platformer is enough.