On May 19 Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island came to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. It is an adventure of 3D platforms that seek to rescue the spirit of the genre of the late 90s and early 2000s, and which reads a strong influence of Crash Bandicoot , Jak & Daxterand similar titles, both for their mechanics as for his cartoon style .
After two years of creation, this title is the first game that brings us the independent Swedish studio Right Nice Games, composed of four developers who propose to rescue the essence of those games that add to the platforms good doses of action, puzzles and a sense of very fresh humor and suitable for all audiences.
A SIMPLE HISTORY, PROTAGONIZED BY A FUNNY DUO
The adventure begins with Skylar, a thug and anthropomorphic cat with a bionic arm that wakes up without memory in the ship of CRT, a myste
rious villain of which we only know his metallic voice and who has been experimenting with the girl after capturing her. Our heroine will flee from the ship where she is imprisoned during a game level that will act as
a tutorial, and will end up landing in the exuberant Clover Island, where Plux rescues her, a harebrained bird with a funny aviator hat that will ask for help to save its home from the siege of CRT, which aims to exploit the resources of the island until it becomes a wastela
nd. Skylar and Plux will tour the different areas of the island to free it, confronting the robotic henchmen of CRT and rescuing its inhabitants.
During the game we will control Skylar herself, whose voice is put by her mechanical arm, which subtracts much of the charisma she might have and
whose lack is a pity, since her design presents her as a strong and positive female character, with determination and security in itself. Plux will be a companion who will provide us with clues and information as we move forward and with which Skylar will maintain friendl
y dialogues. However, we feel that he is a comrade whose possibilities could have been exploited much more to make him a much more powerful ally.
WITH ALL THE INGREDIENTS OF A 3D NOVANTERO PLATFORMS
The island is made up of five levels with varied scenarios – beaches, volcanoes, futuristic installations, deserts, etc. – that we will explore by advancing
its platforms combining jumps and double jumps and making use of a good synchronization capacity with which, sometimes , it will be necessary to compensate an imperfect control precision at some point of the game. We will
face CRT minions, whom we will defeat with our powerful mechanical arm and by means of revolving attacks and we will solve puzzles to unlock new are
as. As collectable, we are offered the optional mission of rescuing all the inhabitants of Clover Island, locked in cages.
We will start the game with three hearts of health (which will appeal to the nostalgia of many), and lose one by hit or fall into the abyss or water-we appreciate the shrewd detail of making water a deadly element for a cat. By losing all hearts, we will start again from
the last control point. The Elder of Clover Island will increase the number of hearts by rescuing certain numbers of inhabitants for her. Likewise, we wil
l collect and accumulate gems as we go forward, which will serve to heal our health or open the prison cells.
During the game we will do with new gadgets that will add new and interesting mechanics. With the propeller backpack we will plan and jump higher; with the Orb of Time we will slow down mobile platforms and traps and with the magnetic glove we w
ill attract enemies towards us and we will use their weapons against them. The mode is difficulty is unique and the learning curve very smooth. In the 2-4 hours of the game, skilled players of the genre may find it too easy.
The most remarkable aspect of Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island , along with the appeal to nostalgia for the 3D platform games that
became popular in the late 90s, is its colorful setting, as well as the sense of humor cool and that is especially appreciated in the relations
hip of Skylar with Plux and, above all, in the clumsy and adorable character of the latter. The cartoon styleof the graphics makes the game very pleasing to the eye and narrative scenes are developed with
illustrated vignettes, which gives a touch comiquero that only lacks snacks instead of subtitles. However, the pulls that occur in some parts of the game, along with the lack of precision that occurs very punctually in some jumps, spoil the experience a bit.
The music, while jovial and reminiscent of the classics inspired by Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island , can sometimes become repetitive and
the voices of the characters seem to be typical of cartoons, although in some may be somewhat overactive at the moment. The language of the game, both audio and text, is completely in English, with which some players could lose all the humorous part, as well as the plot.
