Nikoderiko: The Magical World

I am unashamedly a platform guy. From my earliest experience of New Zealand Story in the arcade cab in the corner of The Boarhound pub, to having my head blown off by Super Mario 64, or battling my way through modern classics like Celeste or Ori – my heart is undoubtedly chained to run ‘n’ jumpers. Understandably, my interest was significantly piqued when Nikoderiko: The Magical World was announced, which looked to offer everything a platforming fan might ask for. 

Firing up the game, you’re introduced to our lead characters through a rather beautiful cutscene that unpacks the story wonderfully. Niko and Luna are a pair of mongoose treasure hunters who sail around on their airship, snagging golden goodies from wherever they might land. The intro shows us the plucky pair arriving on the titular Magical World and dodging all manner of traps and obstacles on their way to securing a gleaming treasure chest. Just when you think our good guys will make off with the loot, the portly Baron Grimbald and his army of reptilian goons show up and make off with the goods. Cut to scene in Level One, and you’ve got to help Niko and Luna make their way up the mountain, sneak into the Cobring Base and wrest their treasure back from the bad guys.

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At a Glance

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Nikoderiko is as joyful to look at as any game in recent memory. The intro and other cutscenes are polished and playful, and add buckets of character to Niko, Luna and the Cobring cast. Everything is depicted with exaggerated models, strikingly bold colours and movie quality animations which gives the game a big budget feel. And the in game visuals aren’t to be sniffed at either, as you’re treated to layers of lush environments and some wonderful animations and lighting effects. There are a few moments when the Switch can’t keep up with the on screen delights and you have to suffer a few murky visuals as it scrabbles to catch up, but they’re mostly confined to unlocking items in the extras menu and don’t hamper the gameplay experience at all.

The character models are also a delight, with the entire cast stylised to perfection, emulating the wide-eyed and colourful style used in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. Niko and Luna have a loveable-furry look, sporting headband/crop top, and mullet/letterman jacket combos to offer maximum 90s energy. Baron Grimbald is straight up early-Disney villain coded, sporting the same barrel chested, big jowled look as Professor Ratigan (Basil: The Great Mouse Detective) and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin Hood), and his snivelling cronies feel perfectly in keeping as well. All told, the visuals absolutely pop and I’m a huge fan of the job Knights Peak has done.

Getting into the meat of the gameplay is where things get a little bit muddy for me though. Is it because Nikoderiko isn’t fun? Absolutely not. Sliding and hopping around, bopping Cobrings and collecting pick-ups is great fun for the whole 10-hour duration. 

So what’s the problem? 

Well, while Nikoderiko is a self-professed love letter to the last 30 years of platforming, it feels like that love letter might have been written while peeking over the shoulder of the classics, copying their homework without making it much of a secret. I do my best not to compare new games with those that have come before, but in the case of Nikoderiko, that’s pretty much impossible, as most everything in the game feels like it’s come from either Crash Bandicoot, Rayman or, more brazenly, Donkey Kong Country. From the interactive backgrounds to collectable ‘N’, ‘I’, ‘K’, ‘O’ letters, hidden bonus barrels and ride-on animal buddies, the gameplay feels like a straight lift and shift of Rare’s SNES classics, and Retro Studio’s excellent Wii U revivals. 

I understand that paying homage is exactly the recipe that Knights Peak are going for here, and I shouldn’t be upset for buying ‘Multigrain Hoops’ and opening the box to find that the cereal inside really resembles ‘Cheerios’, but it’s the sheer number and frequency of similarities that gives me pause. In the almost-30 levels, barely a single one goes by that I couldn’t reference back directly to a level or mechanic in Donkey Kong Country. Some of the most notable examples are in the selection of bonus stages available and the silhouette/backlit visuals and rocket-riding sections from DKC Returns; you honestly can’t throw a banana peel in Nikoderiko without it landing on a reference to the great ape in a red tie. All of the derivative elements are combined to create levels that are undoubtedly engaging and fun to play, but I struggle to give Knights Peak full marks on the experience since so little of it feels like their own. 

But do you know who won’t be such a curmudgeon about reusing themes and mechanics? Younger players who never got to experience the original DKC series, and who Nikoderiko is definitely aimed more towards. Newer players will have a blast figuring out where all the secret bonuses are, hopping on Cobrings to overcome chasms, and collecting fireflies to their heart’s content. To break up the general 2.5D platforming, there are some Crash Bandicoot-inspired 3D sections and characterful boss battles, which make for a nice change of pace since neither is overdone. There’s some fun unlockable content too, like concept sketches, character models and a music collection, though it’ll take you an age to get everything. I estimate you’ll need to complete the game four or five times over to collect enough jars to pay for them, and even then you’ll be at the mercy of the RNG to give you what you want instead of needless in-game currency. 

The overall difficulty is pretty laid back; there are no life counters or continues to contend with – even on ‘Normal’ difficulty, and if anyone is struggling, a second player can easily jump in to lend them a hand, using the ‘jump in, jump out’ multiplayer format. I wouldn’t especially advocate for Nikoderiko as a two-player experience, just because the challenge level doesn’t really warrant it (nor the game camera, which can struggle to behave itself), but it’s there as a helpful extra if you’re in a household that’s still learning to share! 

There are a few annoyances to overcome though; Nikoderiko has a lot of long loading times (at least on the Switch), and you’ll regularly find yourself waiting 15-25 seconds between the map screen and the hands-on gameplay. I also found some struggles in the general platforming, most noticeably with moving platforms, where you’ll often slide or ground-pound right through them to your untimely and frustrating death. Additionally, there were some sections where Niko should clearly smash through a breakable platform to reach a secret area and just didn’t, leaving you stuck in an unplayable area and requiring a restart. Finally, it felt like I wasn’t very well rewarded for collecting all the bonus keys and hidden gems throughout the game; I thought these would unlock an optional, perhaps more difficult, set of levels, but instead, they do nothing at all, which feels like something of a letdown.

Nikoderiko: The Magical World is a vibrant platformer that the whole family will enjoy. Jam packed with eye-popping visuals, loveable characters and solid level design, it’s the prototypical modern day platformer. Hampered only by long loading times and a smattering of bugs, the main drawback might only be how heavily it leans on its source material, essentially becoming Donkey Kong Country Returns-lite – for better or for worse. Sporting modern palatability and polish alongside the old school gameplay, if there was ever a game that a parent could show their kids about ‘platform games back in my day’, Nikoderiko is the one.

In the interest of full disclosure, VGamingNews was provided with a copy of the game in order to conduct this review.

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