Bouncy Bullets review for PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Switch

I initially played Bouncy Bullets on my Vita, because, even now, that?s my platform of choice. This was a mistake, because Bouncy Bullets on the Vita verges on the unplayable. It?s not that it can?t perform — it can. It runs smoothly, and it looks as bright and vibrant as it does on PS4. Unfortunately, the controls are so lousy, none of that matters. It?s a game where you have to make all kinds of quick, precise jumps, except it?s so floaty that you can barely do anything, particularly on such a tiny screen. Even the allure of a very, very easy Platinum wasn?t enough to get me to spend more than half an hour on it before I finally gave up in frustration about a dozen levels in.

Interestingly, half an hour was more than enough time to Platinum the game on PS4 — which, in fairness, isn?t that much of an achievement, since it only requires that you finish 31 levels. Still, at the very least, Bouncy Bullets is playable on PS4, which, relative to its handheld version, constitutes an achievement.

Not much of an achievement, though, because the game still isn?t that good. The controls are still floaty, the jumps are still imprecise, and moving is still a bit of a nightmare, with the only difference being that you have more screen real estate so you stand a bit more of a chance. Not a great chance, because the game is still asking that you make all kinds of precise movements and then it?s not giving you the tools to do any of them, but a chance nonetheless.

The unfortunate thing is that it?s easy to imagine Bouncy Bullets being kind of decent with a little bit more work. Regardless of the system on which you play it, it?s a bright, colourful game that pops off the screen, and with a few tweaks you could easily pretend you?re soaring through the levels.

As it stands, however, there?s no soaring going on here — just lots of annoying floating off the edge of platforms, and into razors, and lasers, and enemy bullets. Consequently, Bouncy Bullets just ends up being more frustrating than anything else.

Ratalaika Games provided us with a Bouncy Bullets PS4/Vita code for review purposes.