King Oddball Review‏

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If Terry Gilliam were to play Angry Birds while on acid, I imagine that, King Oddball might well be a relatively accurate representation of his accompanying dreams that evening. While technically and conceptually hugely similar to Rovio’s avian puzzler, on an artistic level, this is much closer to something that might have come out of Terry Gilliam’s, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, while, from an audio perspective, is actually rather reminiscent of his work on 12 Monkeys.

It’s an unusual mix of the strange and the fundamentally recognisable – easily palatable gameplay combined with a truly bizarre aesthetic to create something that is undeniably, well, odd.

From a gameplay perspective, King Oddball is a one button affair. The King who resides in the sky and who seems to have a serious problem with the military plucks rocks from the air with his tongue…..obviously. With rock to hand (ok, too tongue), King Oddball then swings it back and forth in a pendulum-like motion. From here, you press X to release the stone upon the timed trajectory in an attempt to wipe out the military forces below…….like I said, odd.

Remove the oddness though, and you’re essentially playing Angry Birds with a greater emphasis on timing. The gravity can be a little strange and the timing takes some getting used to, but once it clicks, King Oddball delivers an entertaining and highly addictive alternative for those tiring of Angry Birds.

Still, while the gameplay is certainly addictive in short doses, due to the overriding simplicity of the design and the lack of additional attacks or skills, King Oddball does invariably start to feel somewhat repetitive during extended play. There is tons of content and additional skill challenges in crystal mode that tasks you with completing stages with fewer stones, but with no scoring system and little to play for other than stage completion, you’ll be hard pressed to remain committed right through to the end.

10tons’ utterly bizarre take on the Angry Birds template is highly enjoyable but ultimately let down by its limited design. There is plenty of content, but little reason to see it all. Despite its issues though, there are few games more addictive in small doses and the audio/visual design is refreshingly bonkers throughout.

Bonus Stage Rating - Good 7/10

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Sony Playstation 4 code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.

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