In recent years, the platformer genre has been experiencing something of a second wind, and Nikoderiko is a shining example of this trend. Developed by VEA Games and published by Knights Peak, it offers players a unique experience that combines a gripping narrative, engaging storyline, vibrant graphics, and addictive, intuitive gameplay.
VEA Games studio was founded in 2015 and has been involved in creating various tools for UE4 like SPLINE MESH SOLUTIONS, ULTIMATE RIVER TOOL, and others. But everything changed when in 2024 they released Nikoderiko: The Magical World, an entertaining, colorful project that took a special niche in the genre.
The game combines the ideas of Donkey Kong and Crash Bandicoot, expressing them in an interesting way. By the way, the OST for the project was written by David Wise, the man responsible for the musical accompaniment in the platformer about the Great Ape.
And now, the game returns with a massive, exciting update that includes expanded levels, reimagined mechanics, and additional secrets to uncover. Those who consider themselves brave enough can attempt to fight their way through the Hard difficulty for the ultimate challenge, solo or in co-op!
Two brave adventurers end up tangled in the center of the game’s plot: Niko and Luna, who have set off to unknown lands in search of an ancient treasure. But a formidable opponent is blocking their way. Evil baron Grimbald has his eyes set on the coveted chest with riches as well. This confrontation promises not only to be thorny and tense, but also full of unexpected turns and twists.
The two protagonists are clever mongooses. Niko is your typical adventurer who prefers to act on impulse without thinking through the consequences. He is charismatic and witty, constantly lighting up the atmosphere with jokes and light sarcasm.
His girlfriend, Luna, is a more reasonable and attentive person. She often tries to calm her eccentric companion, though she herself is not devoid of emotion in the least. She follows the archetype of a typical cute girl who reacts with delight to beautiful flowers and can be scared by an unexpected sound, adding a bit of charming atmosphere to Nikoderiko. Don’t underestimate her abilities, though, she’s every bit as much an adventurer as Niko is.
The game offers an option to choose between single-player and co-op play on the same screen, which makes any given playthrough even more exciting. The choice of your main character likewise adds variety: for example, I consciously chose to play as a girl for the first time because Niko’s manners were sometimes pretty over the top.
Moving around the map of this charming world, players will be able to choose available levels to immerse themselves in the main action. If you want to return to previously completed stages, the game provides such an opportunity – you can collect remaining prizes or complete missed challenges.
Although the gameplay is not particularly deep, it effectively grabs and holds your attention thanks to colorful graphics and responsive controls. Moderate difficulty allows you to enjoy the platformer with children or a partner who has no experience with such games, especially if you decide to embark on the easy difficulty.
Like other representatives of the genre, Nikoderiko has a lot of running and jumping, including the frequently practiced option to step on the heads of enemies. There are ground slides that replace the usual hit, as well as the ability to deliver powerful attacks from above. Sometimes you can even throw a barrel or a chest at enemies for some spectacularly explosive effect, which adds an element of fun to the gameplay.
The majority of the levels are made in the so-called 2.5D format, but sometimes the perspective changes, turning the game into a full-fledged 3D platformer. These moments look especially impressive, and it is even a little bit sad that the developers did not use this technique more often in a singular playthrough.
Overall, Nikoderiko offers an interesting combination of classic mechanics and colorful visuals, which makes it an attractive choice for platformer lovers. Additionally, you can use the in-game currency to buy one of the 3 featured riding pets that will help you get through the levels if you get stuck somewhere.
The game world is divided into unique biomes, the initial ones are set in the jungle, then mountains with mines, desert stages, underwater stages and even snowy mountains. Each such zone will present you with several stages with bosses at the end.
Bosses can be considered to be separate levels where you have to fight against enemies using all your abilities and skills. Sometimes you just have to throw items at the boss with the help of a riding dinosaur, and sometimes ride through the mines and neutralize the enemy after a long trip. Bosses will have separate phases and location changes, which perfectly complements the battles with interesting solutions and will stick with you long after your playthrough is done.
The game’s visuals are quite impressive and pleasant, although somewhat simple in some moments. Each climate zone stands out with its atmospheric drawing and details, its own little things that put it apart from others. The game is full of bright colors and impressive scenery. But what I want to note is that the game world still requires more detail: comparing with, for example, Crash Bandicoot shows that Nikoderiko is lacking some “life” when it comes to backgrounds.
The music of the game is not only pleasant but even memorable, the style of David Wise is recognizable in everything. Those who played Donkey Kong will immediately feel it. But to be honest, similar as when it comes to the backgrounds design, it lacks some background additions: some sounds of trees creaking, birds singing and flying around, etc. Even though the enemies and our own hero do make sounds, it feels like something is just … missing. The game would benefit from being a little more alive both in the sounds, and in the picture.
The difficulty of the levels doesn’t really increase that much from the start, if you easily pass the first few stages, then the last ones won’t be a challenge for you either. The easy and medium game modes essentially differ only in the number of lives at the start.
But.
This is where the Hard Mode comes into play. If the medium difficulty, considering the somewhat tight controls, allows you to complete the game without any major difficulties, then on the hard mode an additional challenge is added to each level to hurry you along and make sure you pay attention to your surroundings.
Moreover, each level has its own such affix. For example, a spiky cloud that will chase you, not lagging behind you for more than a couple of seconds, or you will need to constantly pick up local currency so as not to die, or there will be an aim that shoots projectiles once it gets into contact with Niko or Luna, which you need to dodge throughout the entire level.
Here lies a certain problem. Let’s start with the fact that the general controls in Nikoderiko don’t seem to be particularly precise when compared to other 2.5D platformers. You can especially feel it when comparing against Crash 4, and how much rougher controlling the character and doing precise movements feels in Nikoderiko. On normal difficulty, this can be easily ignored and forgiven, but the Hard Mode requires you to be much more accurate with your movements. It bit me as soon as Level 2, that I did not beat on Hard despite about 2 hours of attempts to do so.
Some complex mechanics require you to constantly move, quickly complete the level and very accurately execute your techniques. But here’s another problem: the stages in Nikoderiko sometimes rewards you for waiting for the enemy to approach the right distance-place, for the platforms to arrive, and other such situations. And the challenges on Hard seem to not care about this, which actively clashes with the ideology behind the level design.
I have looked up the examples of how the developers themselves play, and I was very surprised by such a high skill and intricate knowledge, but as an ordinary player, I can’t match that. When it comes to the challenges that mean immediate game over on a mistake or hesitation, the level design should match this thoughtful pace and approach.
The last but not the least: checkpoints, there are frankly too few of them on the levels. And if you die without finding the next checkpoint, you have to replay a very large section of the level, fortunately at least the collected secrets and bonuses are saved, and you don’t have to go through all of them again.
