Super Lucky's Tale

XBox is probably really only thought of as the Adult's Gaming Console. XBox and the Microsoft published games largely cater to that crowd, leaving Nintendo and Sony (to a lesser extent) to cater to the family market and those nostalgic for old an old fashioned collect-a-thon platforming game. 2017 delivered some really solid platforming games, A Hat in Time, Sonic Mania and Super Mario Odyssey to name a few and this game was largely buried in the success of those games that are all certainly good and largely shunned by the serious business crowd.

As someone who grew up on the classics of Donkey Kong Country on SNES along with Banjo-Kazooie, Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine (sad to say I missed out on Sony's fare) this game seemed right up my alley.

Super Lucky's Tale delivers classic quality platform game for fans young and old to really enjoy. The game really harkens back to classic pre-Microsoft days of Rare with plenty of items to collect and a charming little story to go with it. The story reminds me a little of Sonic Lost World, minus the frustrating level design that came with that game. Still the game is simple, it won't overwhelm a new player and won't eat up your time as a busy adult either.

There's plenty to get with the missions being pretty straightforward. I've seen complaints about controls, honestly it's no worse than most out there, I had a perfectly fine time controlling it. I played mostly on my PC which was slightly underpar for the game, however the game did run fine with maybe some occasional frame rate issues. I also had constant trouble booting the game up after extensive play which I fault more to the Microsoft store than anything else.

I've heard complaints about camera issues, I don't recalling having issues or maybe I'm just used to 3D Platform games having camera issues that I'm desensitized to it.

A few cons to mention, the game plays the traditional "get item, end level." It's an element many platformers do even today and it does leave players widely mixed on that. The game's load times are a little long but not overbearing.

Super Lucky's Tale is a great break of the usual Xbox fare. If you aren't into classic style 3D Platform games at all it won't be for you but for those who are will find this to be charming and enjoyable. Sometimes back to basics is best rather than constantly breaking the bank on AAA, MS should consider some more of these mid-range titles in the future.

Super Lucky's Tale is a neat underappreciated platforming game that I actually love. The plot is Lucky, a fox, is sucked into the Book of Ages his older sister, Lyra, recovers when the evil cat Jinx and his children, the Kitty Litter, Lucky has to save the worlds inside the book from falling under the feline felons' control.

So, basically, this is your typical platforming game in the vein of classics like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, as Lucky has to collect clovers to progress. There are also coins and gems that add to Lucky's total money, which at first, served no purpose until the Guardian Trials DLC added a store where you can buy outfits for Lucky to wear (which sadly, does not add anything other than changing Lucky's looks).

For gameplay, Lucky has the basic running and jumping, is capable of attacking with his tail, and has the special ability to burrow underground. These moves will come in handy, as some stuff requires burrowing or tail whipping. The levels have four clovers each, each gotten by performing different tasks (completing a level, spelling L-U-C-K-Y, collecting coins, and a hidden page found by completing a puzzle or a timed challenge).

As for the hub world, don't expect a lot. The base game has only four worlds (with two more added as DLC), but thankfully, Playful made sure to add a lot of variety to the levels contained in them to keep them fresh. Some levels are left-to-right sidecrolling, while others have Lucky moving automatically. Also, the levels have some hidden puzzles that reward clovers, like the statue puzzle, where you have to guide fox statues to a good mark, using cat statues to block, and Tess' Marble Maze, where the aim is to guide Lucky, who is shrunken down and put in a marble, through a maze, collecting all the coins to open the exit. And each world has a boss that can be accessed after collecting a certain amount of clovers, and these won't be pushovers, as each one is harder than the last, and require different ways to damage them. It is a neat game that I hope gets a sequel.