Stitchy in Tooki Trouble review for Nintendo Switch

The problem with Stitchy in Tooki Trouble isn?t that it?s a bad game. It?s not — it?s mostly pretty competently made (with one or two flaws that I?ll get to in a few paragraphs), it looks nice, and it runs smoothly. Objectively, it?s fine.

Rather, Stitchy in Tooki Trouble?s problem is that it?s wholly unoriginal. It?s basically a clone of Donkey Kong Country. Just about the only two differences are that a) it?s not nearly as challenging, and b) it stars a scarecrow instead of an ape. Otherwise, you could sub DK in for Stitchy, this game?s eponymous hero, and no one would bat an eye.

To be fair, that?s not nothing. If you?re going to create a 2D platformer and you don?t have any original ideas, you could do a lot worse than to steal directly from one of the most venerable and enduring franchises the genre has to offer. I?ve played plenty of clones and rip-offs that don?t come anywhere close to being as good in their cloning/rip-off-ery as what Stitchy in Tooki Trouble achieves here.

What?s more, if you can overlook the lack of original ideas, Stitchy in Tooki Trouble is pretty good at what it does. The levels are nicely varied, and you seldom feel like you?re just playing the same thing over and over again. They?re fairly short, mind you, and the platforming isn?t super-precise — and the latter especially goes for this game?s minecart levels, which were consistently the one part of each world that made me want to quit the game and never come back to it.

And, of course, there?s the game?s biggest issue, which is that Donkey Kong Country already exists. Taken on its own terms, Stitchy in Tooki Trouble is perfectly fine, but when you factor in that you could just play the game(s) that have influenced everything about it, it?s hard to wonder why you?d play this over the original.

Polygoat provided us with a Stitchy in Tooki Trouble Switch code for review purposes.