Game Review: “Kindergarten”

Technology
An example of the type of gameplay you'll run into in “Kindergarten”. Photo Credit: SmashGames

Parker Lynch
El Observador

With recent big franchise releases like “Mass Effect: Andromeda” and “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare” turning out to be more of flops than their developers might have hoped, gamers are clamoring for something actually fun to play. Companies all too often expect you to shell out big bucks for largely unfinished or just unsatisfying games. That’s where the genius that is the Steam marketplace and its expansive library of cheap Indie games comes into play.

Upon one such recent visit to the Steam store, I stumbled across a popular new puzzle game that I just had to try. With a name like “Kindergarten” you might expect it to be just another boring learning game for children. However, this is not your ordinary schoolyard experience. You start as the new kid at a kindergarten where the janitor will beat you to death with his mop just for not “skedaddling” fast enough. Although this might sound brutal for a game about kids, I found myself literally laughing out loud every time I was killed by the different wacky characters. Should you choose to try to follow the main story line, you’ll figure out that a student named “Billy” has gone missing and the Principal seems more than a little suspicious.

With art very reminiscent of the quirky DS game “Scribblenauts”, this 2D side scroller is a refreshing addition to the puzzle genre. It masterfully mixes classic school activities such as show and tell and playing house with abstract storylines that all seem to flow together at some point. The puzzles themselves all involve collecting money and items throughout the day and using said components to complete the various missions given by the cast of characters. You’ll have the chance to help the teacher kill off the other students, endure a good beating from the school bully, or just enjoy collecting the cliché, but aptly named “Monstermon” cards.   

Given that this game is new and still in early access, it is rife with its fair share of bug, glitches, and spelling errors. It is also incomplete as perfectionists will find that collecting all of the available cards does not yet yield the end game event as this will be included in the final release. Nonetheless, this game has a good ten hours of content that you won’t want to put down until you know you’ve done all you can. Not to mention that it’s being offered for a mere $5. So instead of getting your next cup of coffee, give that cash to a worthy Indie developer that needs all the support they can get. “Kindergarten: is available now for the PC on Steam.

Categories
EntertainmentFeatured

RELATED BY

0