Kao the Kangaroo (2000 re-release)

[h1] Game designed for nobody! Lose all lives = lose your save file! [/h1] I picked up this game as part of their random 90% off sales that they do once every month. Already off the bat, there is a ton of issues with this game that need to be addressed that the game doesn't tell you in it's general marketing. Let's first start off with launching the game. [h1] Launching The Game (Fix) [/h1] If you're playing this game on Windows 11, the game will NOT launch. To be able to make it launch, you'll need to go into your game installation directory, right click the .exe executable and hit properties. Once you're there, hit the compatibility tab, and check the box, "Run this program in compatibility mode for:", and click the drop-down menu and select, "Windows 7". [h1] Controller Support [/h1] Upon entering, since I play off a Switch Grip Controller, you'll need to manually configure a working preset for your desired controller, as Steam controller support for this game is non-existent. Keyboard controllers aren't better either. You'll likely have a better time with a controller than keyboard controls. As the mapping this game sets on your keyboard is honestly concerning... [h1] How Lives & Checkpoints Work [/h1] How this game works is you're given 5 life's. Lose them all, and you lose your entire save! This game also does NOT contain ANY checkpoints. The only checkpoints that exist, are ones you can collect while traveling through levels. However, it's important to note that these checkpoints, once played at your desired spot, will only work once. If you die twice, you re-spawn back to the beginning of the level. [h1] Camera Control [/h1] The camera for this game is non-existent, instead, your camera is heavily relied on the direction your character faces. So expect your camera to have very high sensitivity, which will make it difficult to get through particular obstacles. Some levels will require you to run away from large objects hurdling it's way to squish you. The game does not re-format your direction keys when your camera is inverted, which will make running away from boulders extremely difficult. [h1] Slopes? [/h1] A few levels in this game will require you to slide down slopes, some slopes may require very quick turns that will be difficult to avoid falling off of. Pulling down the joystick as you get close to these turns can slow your speed down, which has helped in beating these particular levels. Something the game doesn't tell you, but hey, the real game is figuring out this yourself... [h1] Difficulty Modes Are The Same...? [/h1] This game also contains differently modes, Easy, Medium, Hard. Though, I would not push your luck with either difficulty mode, as their almost entirely the same. Which really shows the laziness in the developers when no changes occurs depending on what you select. [h1] The Verdict [/h1] Overall, I would not pick this game up, even if you can get this at a discount, the marketing for this game is very misleading. If you're looking for a fun/casual styled game, this isn't it. If you're looking to pick this up to play the whole KAO trilogy, you're best bet is to run Cheat Engine to give yourself that promised easy mode. 2/10

Glad I found this series. It looks like an N64 game and plays kind of like a Crash and Croc hybrid. Short game, but some of the later levels get lengthy and the precision jumps will make you want to tear your hair out. 7.5/10