2023-09-01 00:05:39
A misunderstood but redundant fairy tale.
Neko Journey is one of those video games born from the hands of independent developers that we can find in the various online stores for a few euros, those video games that we sometimes buy with the rest of the currency that the we spent on more iconic productions. The result is a plot that is not very innovative, with a wizard who attacks our village with the sole aim of kidnapping our sister, and gameplay that aims for simplicity by offering an old-fashioned platformer but in 2.5D. There’s Neko Journey, ‘nothing new on the horizon’, but let’s get into the details (not even that much) even if with a game that only lasts a few hours, we don’t have much to wear under the tooth. The first thing we need to look at is gameplay, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Let’s admit that the music that “dominates” the main menu and the respective dance of our protagonist had given us hope, especially since it was possible to customize our little playmate. We noticed that it was possible to leave it in a bra. Yes, and there is no censorship, except for the minimal, low-detail graphics. Running around with our character (Neko Journey is a side-scrolling platformer) jumping here and there breasts in the wind didn’t amuse us as much as we hoped. That said, it certainly wouldn’t have been better for the protagonist to be a man, God forbid, but it’s a gameplay choice that we didn’t really understand.
The rest of the game is also diversified, or rather tries to be, by inserting moments similar to quick events where we have to avoid obstacles or moments where we have to “fly” over obstacles (and dragons, yes because they never fail in fairy tales). Some enemies can be tackled by jumping on their heads, while later in the game you’ll be equipped with boxing gloves to punch them in the face. We also have the presence of end of level bosses which must be faced in the good old arcade style, waiting to have the right window of time to hit them properly, and since it will not always be intuitive to face them right before each boss fight we will have a nice NPC who will sell us clues. It is a pity that the enemies often strike us despite everything, even if we try to be careful or take the “right measures”. The flick to lower our vitality by a few points is assured, the enemies will not have a wide variety of attacks and as soon as we are close enough to activate them, they will be triggered obsessively and compulsively.
What about the technical aspect?
Neko Journey is a purely English title (or Russian if you prefer), but this has no impact on the video game, given the lackluster storyline and the lack of depth that surrounds it. Jump, punch and repeat. The whole thing represents about three hours of play, which, given the ridiculous price, is quite acceptable. The problem lies largely in the technical aspect of Neko Journey; the PlayStation version doesn’t really shine in this regard. Graphically a barely sufficient title, even what should be our character’s “hitboxes” seems to have been done a bit in a hurry since we sometimes died after being simply touched. Neko Journey’s environments are well-characterized, and even the backing music could be enjoyable if it wasn’t badly equalized and didn’t tend to have an annoying croaking effect. Yes the audio croaks, it overlaps, more than once we preferred to play muted rather than hear this disaster, and it’s a shame because we repeat it, the music that accompanies the levels of the game is pleasant and catchy.
Another stylistic choice that we didn’t quite understand is the fact that when the characters speak they make guttural noises (also never equalized) and to figure out which character is speaking their head does a ‘subwoofer’ effect, it zooms in and out. In our opinion, it would have been better not to make any sound at all and to diversify the subtitles (in English) in different colors depending on the character speaking. In short, on a technical level, Neko Journey leaves something to be desired. And before you ask us for the reasons for a rating close to sufficient, it is better to be clear: it is not a bad game. The game itself is fun and reminds us of the old platformers that we loved so much in arcades, both in terms of gameplay and level of difficulty. Unfortunately, Neko Journey remains an independent video game that could have been worked on better, made a little more graphically pleasing, better looked after in terms of audio, and perhaps a little longer and with more content. Changing the character’s clothes or hair or tackling the adventure in roguelike mode certainly doesn’t help.
VERDICT
What can I say except that it’s a shame that more care has not been taken in the release of Neko Journey on consoles. Unfortunately, the title does not take off and is cut off by technical flaws that cannot be forgiven even by independent developers, such as distorted and problematic in-game sound. If we put aside the fact that Neko Journey is a title that lasts only a handful of hours, and that we see in it a desire from the developers to reconnect with the old glories of the past, so fashionable in the 90s, there remains a glaring lack of ideas. A redundant and already seen plot, a story that does not take off (and which does not even exist to be honest), the pursuit of a wizard between different game levels until the final fight.
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