Kao the Kangaroo review: An obscure but welcome revival

digitaltrends.com:

Tate Multimedia is giving a forgotten-turned-beloved platforming mascot a second chance with the rebooted Kao the Kangaroo. This new game, which shares a name with the franchise itself, shows why now is truly the perfect time to bring Kao back. Nowadays, there are a plethora of independent 3D platformers that don’t have to worry about being drowned out by the big AAA platformers, like Kao was back when it first emerged.

While Mario, Crash Bandicoot, Rayman, and Spyro the Dragon were ultimately the platforming mascots that stood the test of the time the best, they are far from the only memorable characters to headline 3D platforming games. Popular YouTube video and Twitter hashtags helped bring this series back, and the effort from fans was mostly worth it. Devilishly simple but surprisingly memorable in most aspects of its design, this classic Kao the Kangaroo is an enjoyable platforming romp despite some shortcomings.

It may be an easy platformer with poor voice acting and a bad story, but Kao the Kangaroo delivers fundamentally enjoyable gameplay in a vibrant world, showing how even the less well-remembered platformers from the genre’s heyday have a better chance at getting the love they deserve now than they did 20+ years ago.

During the late 90s and early 2000s in particular, many developers took cute animals, machines, or kids and turned them into the star of an exciting platformer for players of all ages. Kao the Kangaroo is one of these series, with the first three games in the series being fun, if unambitious, platformers in the vein of games like Crash Bandicoot and Rayman 2.

The rebooted Kao the Kangaroo feels as simple as classic 3D platformers from the N64, PlayStation, and Dreamcast era, but with modern