Platform shooter’s Copy Kitty’s offbeat design, quirky visuals and remarkably technical gameplay could give it area of interest enchantment, however I apparently match completely into that area of interest. I’ve discovered myself coming again to this one for years on finish, always impressed by developer Nuclear Strawberry’s creativity and drive. Today, after what looks as if an eternity in manufacturing (and two years in Early Access to cap it off), the ultimate model of the sport has been launched together with an up to date demo. Fans of Japanese studio Treasure’s distinctive model will discover themselves proper at dwelling right here.
Who right here bear in mind’s Treasure’s traditional Megadrive/Genesis platform shooter Gunstar Heroes? The weapon system from that was a pleasure, the place each mixture of two weapon pickups would lead to a 3rd, hybrid assault. Copy Kitty goes deeper. Not solely are there considerably extra fundamental weapon sorts, however nearly each mixture of two or three totally different base weapons leads to a singular hybrid shot. In quick: Hundreds of weapons, lots of that are spectacular screen-filling, particle-spewing apocalypse machines, and immensely satisfying to make use of.
While you’d suppose that might lead to a senseless motion recreation, Copy Kitty can be a recreation of useful resource administration. Every weapon has an ammo restrict, and each mixture shot takes one ammo from every of the three ammo swimming pools getting used. On prime of that, some ranges are extra puzzle-centric, some enemies have resistances or shields, and executives particularly (and there are a LOT of bosses) require you to concentrate on evasion till you’ve gathered sufficient ammo to correctly return hearth.
As if that wasn’t sufficient complexity, there’s an unlockable second character with utterly totally different gameplay mechanics, story, a complete new set of weaponry and even some distinctive ranges. Considering there’s round 120 fundamental levels plus a bunch of non-compulsory stuff and an countless survival mode with its personal distinctive baddies, there’s lots to chew on right here, and a ton of creativeness. Each world feels contemporary, with one world being a glitchy teleport-maze filled with mashed-up hybrid sprites, and the medieval themed world introducing a complete new set of melee-centric weaponry that may be triple-wielded.
There’s an actual studying curve to Copy Kitty, and initially it is going to really feel stiff and limiting. But by the top of my first playthrough as major protagonist Boki, I couldn’t assist however draw comparisons to Platinum’s specific faculty of recreation design, whereby each single battle is a secretly taught lesson in recreation mechanics. I used to be bouncing off the partitions and cleansing out hordes of enemies with out even considering what my palms have been doing, and the later bosses in story mode are fantastically satisfying multi-stage throwdowns.
The remaining launch of the sport provides the ultimate, 12th world to Story Mode, in addition to a bunch of recent mid-bosses added to earlier worlds. Knowing Copy Kitty’s builders, I’d additionally hazard a guess that some secrets and techniques are ready to be discovered as properly, though I doubt there’ll be something fairly as huge because the hidden world already within the recreation. Sadly, the sport is locked to 4:three side ratio. While it’s typically good about pillarboxing the picture in full-screen mode, this one’s old-school vibe runs greater than pores and skin deep. Naturally, a great gamepad is really useful, however keyboard is okay sufficient to play on.
You can get Copy Kitty via Itch.io (which provides the builders a considerably bigger minimize, and features a Steam key) or direct from Steam for £11.39/$15, with a post-launch worth rise to $20 deliberate. There’s additionally a generously portioned demo on the Itch.io retailer web page for the sport.
