Mekazoo

Mekazoo by The Good Mood Creators is an adorable and well designed 2D platformer set in a 3D world with some brilliant gameplay and a cat of colourful mechanized characters. Utilise these stylish synthetic creatures as they blast through the levels, you’ll need fast reflexes and some decent reflexes if you want to make it through to the end of a game that pays homage to a classic style of gaming once thought forgotten.

Gameplay

The objective of the game is quite simple as it is for intents and purposes it is a straightforward platformer. You select 2 creatures, which you can switch between throughout the level as you see fit, and you go through the level doing your best to overcome its challenges.

Different animals have different abilities and can traverse the levels in different ways. Frogs have tongues and can swing, birds can fly and there’s also an armadillo that has a hard shell and can cannonball through some objects and more, there’s a lot of diversity and its well utilised which is great.

The characters all handle well even if some require a little getting used to. Additionally, there are secret switches that you can find throughout the game that permit you to change to a more challenging creature. This allows you to take on the mission but with added difficulty of playing a creature that may not be as well suited for it. If I have to choose a game that was similar to help convey what I’m talking about, I’d probably go with Unravel, specifically in its faster paced segments.

Art Style

Aesthetically, I would class this game as busy. That’s not necessarily a bad thing however, as the characters and levels are well designed and everything is clear enough to see thanks to the incredible amount of neon lighting that accents every aspect.

The characters are cute and easy to distinguish from each other. Adorably, they all have little aesthetic changes that you can make through the customization menu. Perhaps you’d like to change the animals colour, or the little outfit it’s wearing; these are things that can be found as collectibles throughout the game and they add a lot to it. Customization options are pretty much always a must for any game.

Music

The music in this title may not necessarily be anything to write home about but it is outstandingly well used. At no point did I find it to be annoying and overplayed or repetitive in any way. This can usually be a hard feat for a game that sometimes requires you to play a level over a few times either to get all the collectibles or because it’s proving to be a little too challenging. That said, I still feel that the soundtrack could have used a little more depth.

Pros

• Colourful and well designed characters and world
• Nice accompanying music

Cons

• Would have benefitted from being a bit longer
• Has a bit of a steep learning curve