Armillo Review (Wii U eShop)

Armillo is only available from the European eShop at the time of writing. You can switch stores to purchase it here in Australia.

Super Monkey Ball, Marble Madness, Pac Man or even Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg – all these games are perfect examples of excessive rolling and Armillo is no different. An indie title that is very traditional in its gameplay and yet very unique at the same time. Wii U has had its fair share of indie titles released in the last few months but few have been exclusive, the tides are slowly changing though and we are seeing some exclusive content built to take advantage of the Wii U.

The plot is simplistic but effective enough in driving the game forwards in a more coherent fashion rather than just turning this into a level by level affair that it really is. Armillo is an armadillo who can travel through space somehow… and it is his responsibility to save the inhabitants of his home planet after they have been abducted by a group of robots known as Darkbots. Like all nasty people that didn’t get that extra hug as an adult at a Mariah Carey concert, they have kidnapped your brother, all inhabitants of your planet and forced you to endure a series of puzzles just to return your life back to your normal ho-hum dull space fairing existence.

Each level has a very similar style to Mario Galaxy but visually are much more similar to the planet levels in Ratchet and Clank on the PS2. You have to roll around a variety of mazes saving all your lost friends while attacking the various different varieties of enemies. To do this you have roll into, use your boost, fire guns using various additional attachments and abilities to make it all in one piece. The closest the gameplay style would be is Dillion’s Rolling Western but as played from a top down view. As you progress you will continually face off against a Darkbot flying saucer (think possessed Google Earth Satellite) which will have a variety of different attack mechanisms you have to face off again in an arena style battle. Despite this, the levels are very linear with little exploration or backtracking allowed, and while this is a slight negative it is not as bad as it sounds – if it wasn’t for the fact that the different situations that you go through are always varied to keep you on your toes.

One moment you are rolling at high speed ‘Sonic style’, the next you are figuring out a directional puzzle or fighting to get a key to the next gate, there are few games that can keep the entire experience fresh throughout without significantly changing the base gameplay mechanic but this is one of the special ones. You are never left feeling bored or stuck in a repetitive situation. One such example is that throughout the game you will be teleported to an area that has an unbreathable atmosphere and has to be solved in under 30 seconds, these are simple at first but quickly step up the difficulty to keep you on edge. It starts off very easy to get you used to the whole style but it does increase in difficulty quickly, it never becomes unbearable but it is out to punish you when you get complacent.

As a whole, there are 5 worlds with 4 levels in each to conquer with bonus levels on top but unfortunately most levels can be finished in under 10 minutes not leaving much content as a whole. This game can be finished on the first playthrough in a little under 3-4 hours. There is some replay value in terms of getting a gold ranking on every level but beyond that it is a little limited. Considering the nature of the gameplay, this is not a big drawback as there is only so much that can be done with a rolling ball and the developer has done more than a decent job in terms of keeping it all fresh.

The presentation is an issue, the audio consists of some fairly average voice acting matched up to decent rock music tracks and sound effects, at the very least it is not annoying and repetitive – it does show the limited resources that were available to the developer. The visuals don’t come off as good, everything is clear and colourful which makes for a very nice style but it does all look a little behind the times in terms of technology. Texturing is hi-res but a little dull in execution, it all looks like a PS2 game (perhaps deliberately) running at high definition, the modelling is competent if a little blocky at times, to top it off however is the frame rate that struggles to keep a consistent pace. It is not a major issue as it doesn’t affect the gameplay negatively but it would be nice if these issues where ironed out before release, maybe next time.

Despite all these issues, what is on show here is a game that has a lot of character and charm in almost every part of it. Length and technology issues can’t hold down a game that is very fresh and unique in its execution. It will probably not be the most memorable experience but for what you get, it is extremely fun to play and you will not be disappointed by the end results. The only issue now is waiting and hoping that this hits the Australian eShop as soon as possible.

Rating: 4/5