Friday, October 19, 2018

"Joggernauts" Review


Adorably colorful, space helmet-wearing aliens trot in a line. They hop, dodge and weave their way past an array of obstacles that bombard them as the action flows from right to left. That's "Joggernauts," which milks a deceptively simple concept for more than its worth.

Developer Space Mace's co-op-focused rhythm-puzzle-platformer has much in common with "Patapon" and, well before the time of that game, "Lemmings." Your survival depends on the effectiveness of teamwork. No matter how skilled you are, you are only as good as your weakest collaborator.

As many as four players can join in the action. Success prizes communications, coordination and especially, synchronization. If you gather with three close friends to play, expect them to become three frenemies within a few minutes.

The game seems coded from the ground up to inspire dissent and suspicion among even the tightest of squads. The difficulty level ramps up considerably, forging an arduous challenge level that's closer to "Dark Souls" than that of a typical party game.

If you lack Switch-playing friends to delve into the meat of the mutiplayer, you're left with a perfunctory solo mode that tasks you to toggle back and forth between two characters as they barrel down the paths.

"Joggernauts," like Jenga, is a giddy time with friends but has almost no point at all alone.
Publisher provided review code.

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