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Summary
Wabisabi Game’s debut action platformer,RKGK(akaRakuGaki), is a colorful and charming tribute to 90s platforms that starts strong but fails to find a way to prevent its fresh coat of paint from chipping. Thanks to Gearbox Publishing and Riot Game’s Underrepresented Founders Program, Wabisabi Games created its dream project thatcaptures the joy of 90s platforming collectathons likeSpyro The Dragonand theSonic Adventuregames.
RakuGakitranslates to graffiti in Japanese, which is a vital tool for reclaiming the game’s Cap City from the tyrannical and anti-expressionist rule of Mr.Buff. Players take control of Valah, an athletic street artist who takes it upon herself to destroy Buff’s soul-sucking robots and restore creativity and the minds of the city’s residents.RKGKsucceeds more than it fails, but is missing elements to makeRKGK’s gameplay feel as refreshingas it could be.
Introducing Mr.Buff’s Cyberpunk World To Colorful Anime
Valah Unlocks More Artwork As She Takes Back The City
Wabisabi Games is a developer dedicated to creating gameplay dripping with nostalgia from anime and video games its members grew up with, and it shows inRKGK.Each of the six city sections - comprising of 5-6 stages - features a sci-fi world filled with robots, lasers, and moving platforms. The uniform dark color schemes and drab architecture are begging for extra colors and personality, something Valah and her robot friend AYO are prepared to provide.
As Valah gets closer to her goal of taking out Mr.Buff, the stages thankfully begin to get more challenging and trippy in their designs.
Valah uses paint to surf around her environment, damage enemies, and deface hypnotizing television screens with vibrant collectible artwork. Each stage contains secrets for completionists and shortcuts for speedrunning time trials. At first,it’s a thrill to see how Valah’s actions leave their mark on the environments, especially when looking back on a level after the fact. However, after adding more color to a few of Cap City’s areas,RKGK’s gameplay can’t help but start to feel stale.
RKGK’s Art Should Be More Than Drawings
Incredible Murals Change The Environment, Not The Gameplay
RKGKsucceeds at feeling reminiscent of 90s action games, but in the 30 years since, features have been added to the genre that helped it evolve that aren’t here. While the harder “Retro” difficulty is a more challenging endeavor with fewer checkpoints, the lack of unlockable abilities significantly hurt the game’s sense of progression.Valah finishes the game with the same attacks and abilities that she starts with, which is a missed scaling opportunity.
For a game that focuses so much on how art affects the world, there needs to be more gameplay mechanics that utilize Valah’s paint or artwork against enemies. Sliding on floors leaves a trail of paint that is strictly for visual flair, but having the paint trails damage, trap foes, or be used as a method to chain together combos would have added an extra layer to the gameplay thatRKGKis sorely missing.
RKGKis strictly a single-player adventure, but leaderboards to compete with high scores online would have been a great addition.
Bosses Are A Highlight, While Pacing Is A Low Point
Boss Fights Await Players At The End of Each City Section
As players work to liberate Cap City, stages must be completed, and enough hypnotizing televisions must be defaced to unlock the area’s boss battles.RKGK’s boss fights and optional .ExE stages are often challenging platforming sectionsthat help provide a break from the stages that fail to feel too different from each other.
Progressing to the later stages sees little to no variation in the types of robot enemies Valah faces throughout the game. The lack of progression in both the threats and abilities players encounter impacts the pacing of later stages, which should feel more exciting.
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As Valah gets closer to her goal of taking out Mr. Buff, the stages thankfully begin to get more challenging and trippy in their designs. Still, the obstacles that later levels present needed to include unique sections or enemies to make each feel more memorable. If Valah had been able to upgrade her speed, mobility, and attacks, thenlater stages could have also evolved into more impressive teststo showcase how much Valah and the player’s skills had improved over the course of the game.
Final Thoughts & Review Score
3/5 - “Good” by Screen Rant’s Scoring Metric
The stunning murals that Valah uses to cover objectives are a visual treat with dynamic 3D artwork. It’s a pity that these stunning works are confined to the black screen objectives rather than integrated into attacks and traversal mechanics. Having the murals affect gameplay was an opportunity to add another layer of visual appeal and would have helpedbuild a stronger incentive for players to unlock everythingRKGKhas to offer.
Fans of stylish and fast-paced adventure platforming games should giveRKGKa try because, despite its shortcomings, it’s a fun installment of its genre. While the main story can be completed in around 10 hours, finding all the collectibles, defeating time trials, and winning each challenge will take more time and practice to accomplish.RKGKmay not be a revolutionary take on the genre, but it sticks the landing enough to be worth a look.
Screen Rantwas provided a PC code for the purposes of this review.
