Kinduo review for PS5/PS4, Xbox Series X/One, Switch

My usual complaint about releases from Ratalaika Games is that they tend to unlock the Platinum Trophy way too early. The good news about Kinduo is that, technically, that?s not the case ? you need to beat the game, secret stage included, in order to pop a Platinum.

While that?s a welcome change, it?s hard to praise Kinduo all that much since not only is it a fairly short game (only 31 levels, counting that secret stage), it?s also very, very easy, for the most part. I hate to be a hypocrite, but it?s hard to care about the Platinum not popping until the very end when you can still see everything a game has to offer in less than an hour?

To Kinduo?s credit, it?s kind of cute. It?s a puzzle platformer about a bolt of lightning and a block that are best friends, so that?s not exactly a scenario that?s been done to death. What?s more, their unique powers ? being able to zap switch boxes and explode TNT crates, and being able to push boxes and break glass platforms, respectively ? are utilized well here.

But still, it?s hard to be that excited when, again, you can beat the game in under an hour ? and that?s with the game being prolonged by the fact the block walks pretty slowly. It?s not until you reach level 30 and the secret stage (which is to say: the very last two level) that the game becomes even kind of challenging. The rest of the time it feels like you?re just doing the same kind of levels over and over, even accounting for the fact you?re unlocking those aforementioned powers.

Is Kinduo a terrible game? Definitely not ? like I said, it?s cute enough, and it?s not objectionable so much as it?s short and easy. If that?s all you?re after, go for it, but there are much better puzzle-platformers out there to be had.

Ratalaika Games provided us with a Kinduo PS4/PS5 code for review purposes.