I have a confession as a gamer, I am terrible at platformers. I was practically weaned on the NES, grew up in the golden age of the SNES and the N64 but for all of my years of gaming the platformer was never one I could master. So when JanduSoft’s Caveman Warrior came down the line for review I figured it was time to go back to my roots and finally master one of my greatest nemesis; the platformer. I’ve learned two things from my time with this modern …er… prehistoric take on the platforming genre; first I’m still terrible at platformers and two, Caveman Warriors is beautiful blend of the old and new. So grab that coffee, kick back and enjoy our quick hit review of Caveman Warriors.
Caveman Warriors
Caveman Warriors offers a nice take on a classic formula of increasingly difficult platforming levels, mixing in some unique combat, hot swappable characters and great platforming puzzles that keeps you coming back for more. The story of Warriors is pretty straight forward if straightforward includes aliens abducting pre-historic children and then said children’s family going on a grand platforming adventure through time to stop them. This narrative is told through a series planel comics with no words or verbal narrative being told. It works well in this instance and is a great nod to so many classic platformers in which story was simply an excuse for setting, theme and platforming goodness. The art style carries the same cartoon like vibe as the panel comics and the whole package wraps up into a kid friendly presentation that would make any kid squel at it’s cuteness.
Don’t be fooled though as this game is no walk in the park. The combat and platforming become progressively more challenging with each level. After jumping, swinging and throwing your way through the level you will find yourself face to face with a level boss.. The first few levels were pretty straight forward but as I progressed through the campaign I was reminded a lot of the older castlevania games where each boss really required a study of movement and attacks in order to formulate the best strategy for victory. This is one thing that Caveman Warrior does exceptionally well. The progressive difficulty is well balanced with just the right amount of frustrating moments to challenge you without making you feel like entering a rage induced controller throwing fit.
It’s worth noting that the game isn’t all jumping and running and at times you will find yourself engaging in combat while riding a triceratops and bombing enemies in a fighter plane, because, you know, what’s cooler than a prehistoric warrior in a fighter plane saving their loved ones? These varied missions give a nice break from the standard platforming formula and actually reminded me a lot of games like Turtles in Time or BattleToads from back in the (S)NES days. It offers a great platforming experience.
The controls support both keyboard or controller and like the developer I recommend using the latter. Everything felt quick and responsive on my Xbox One controller which, for a platformer, is the difference between success and having to replace your controller embedded monitor (see rage induced controller throwing fit). JanduSoft made great use of the buttons available giving each character unique abilities and weapon types and as mentioned when playing solo it allows you to switch characters on the fly much like Trine which, according to the developer, is an inspiration for their title. This creates a great opportunity to experiment with multiple solutions to a situation giving some replayability to levels.
In regards to replay this is one area that could be a challenge for Caveman Warriors. Its great to play but once threw it I’m not sure there is much reason to go back. The draw to games like this is typically speed running which has become an incredible subculture in the gaming community. Warriors could very much be a great speed running title but I find it interesting that JanduSoft didn’t include any type of leaderboard system. It would have been great to for those that like that type of challenge. It seems like a bit of a missed opportunity but hopefully we will see it in a later update.
However there is one thing that could make this title a great game for replay and this is that Warriors has full four player, couch co-op support. Even some of the game mechanics lend themselves to a four player experience. I should note that you don’t necessarily need four people to complete objectives but it definitely adds to the experience. With the addition of multiplayer I could see this making for a great Friday night game night with a few buddies on PS4 or Xbox. Even the Steam version allows for the four player couch co-op which is much appreciated.
JanduSoft’s Caveman Warriors is an excellent platformer, it offers challenge, a variety both in levels and gameplay and is a lot of fun to play solo or with friends. It’s tight controls and intuitive layout make it easy to pick up and go with. The lack of replay is really the only concern I have for the title but for the speed runners in the world this might not be an issue. If you’re a fan of the genre, Caveman Warriors is worth looking at when it releases on September 22nd.
Note: Our review was done with a code provided by PR for PS4.
Final Score: 8.6
Pros
- Great level design
- Nice mix of combat and unique character design
- Couch co-op
Cons
- Concern for the longevity of the title
- Will really only appeal to those already a fan of the genre