Game: Ayo the Clown
Genre: Platformer, Action, Adventure
System: Nintendo Switch (Also on PC)
Developer|Publisher: Cloud M1| Plan of Attack
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US Everyone
Price: UK £14.89 | US $19.99 | EU € 19,99
Release Date: July 28th, 2021
Review code provided with many thanks to Plan of Attack
Send in the Clown
I have reviewed quite a lot of platformers this year on Ladies Gamers and I was starting to think this genre was becoming just a tad saturated with similar designs and buzzsaws. When I jumped into Ayo the Clown I was initially predicting another run of the mill platformer (only with a clown this time). But as I have found with many games I review, some games still might surprise you. And I am pleased to say Ayo the Clown is one of those. Most people I know hate clowns, but this might be the game that changes your mind on that.
A Story With Surprise Depth
Ayo wakes up to discover that his dog is missing and set’s off on an epic quest to find out where he has gone. The story is delivered via voice-acted narration on still screens, much like a storybook. Initially, the story starts out pretty typical, almost fairytale-like. A clown wants his dog back. Not much more to it than that. What really surprised me though was the heart and the depth of this tale. As you platform, your way to success is that Ayo encounters many NPCs that need his assistance.
In most games, your character just does the side quest, gets the reward and goes on their merry way. For the most part, this is no different. Then I encountered a side quest where Ayo dismissed helping a character only to regret this choice and later apologizing and making up to it. This is probably the only platformer I played where I found there was some quite striking character development. Even the resolution at the end of the game, while simple, carries a very important message which I’ll share at the end of the review. Needless to say, this game’s plot genuinely took me by surprise. And this is a game starring a clown.
Constantly Evolving and Changing
Ayo at its heart is a 2D platformer. The graphics are cute 3D sprites on a 2D plain. Everything’s pretty cute and cuddly, including Ayo himself. There is a huge amount of level design and variety across this game making every stage feel unique and different, from cake worlds, where gingerbread men do press-ups with giant cakes on their back to shark-infested ports.
After playing through a few levels what immediately stood out to me was that this was a platformer constantly changing as you progress. Unlike so many games in this genre, Ayo never sticks to a single theme (or joke I guess from a clown perspective). The level designs and themes are constantly changing and you regularly unlock new moves. These moves include hovering with a cute balloon, sliding on the floor and climbing ladders.
The only time I was a little disappointed was near the end of the game when I unlocked the wall jump ability which just didn’t work as effectively as it should. It’s not just platforming moves though. You can find weapons, like, blow up balloons shaped like a sword to water balloons to fling at enemies and put out fires. You also get to ride vehicles like tanks and helicopters adding variety to the gameplay.
The game also regularly just surprises you with new set pieces, like a moment where you get a beehive on your head and have to run away and a temporary moment where you lose all your powers including the ability to jump. Then there’s the over the top boss fights. Usually epic in scale and require you to do some pattern memorization or solve some pretty unique puzzles. They felt like a nice way to conclude each new area you visit. Overall, there was rarely a time playing Ayo where I felt bored and was keen to see it to its conclusion.
Pick up and Clown
The controls for the most part are easy to pick up and play. Each time a new move is introduced the game shows a wooden sign of how to use the new mechanics. The movement and jumping did feel a little floaty at times. I sometimes fell off platforms because I hadn’t pressed the jump buttons hard enough. But frustrations with this were alleviated thanks to the game’s regular checkpoints. On that note these are awesome. When you hit a checkpoint dead on you get a pie temporarily to the face. But if you’re quick enough you can jump out of the way of this. Taking a pie to the face doesn’t impede your ability to play the game, it’s just funny giving me even more reason to be smitten with the game.
Collect Them All
The general design reminded me a lot of 2D Yoshi titles, for example, Yoshi’s Crafted World (also on Switch) and not just its graphical feel. This is a platformer that focuses on collecting various hidden items like bears and lolly’s around the levels. But you can also take on quests to unlock a toy to throw in your toy chest. Then there are also thousands of gems to collect. If you collect enough gems you can exchange these for upgrades to your health and balloon ability. But they do come at a very high grind premium. I was easily over a third of the way through the game until I could unlock a single upgrade. These are not necessarily the key to success but can certainly be helpful.
Difficulty
The game allows you to choose your difficulty from three modes easy to hard. What I loved here is that the game doesn’t just throw more hearts at you if you go easy. It actually adjusts the boss fights so you don’t have to hit them as much to conquer them. But if you do find it too easy then medium and hard appropriately rack up the challenge. The game is also very generous for a platformer. Levels are enormous in scale and there are eight themed areas with multiple levels in each theme.
When you finish the game there are also additional secrets to discover. There’s even a little finishing mini-game to play every now and then that enables you to gain more gems but lacks depth. Still with the content on offer it didn’t harm the experience. Lastly, the game performed excellently in both TV and handheld modes.
Conclusion – Acts of Kindness
Ayo the Clown ended up being a wonderful platform surprise for me. The developers put a lot of care and attention into this project and it really paid off in the final product. While I did have a few niggles with the controls, this was a highly entertaining game that I found very hard to put down. On top of that, it carries a beautiful message about acts of kindness to other people.
Even if you hate clowns Ayo the Clown might be the game that finally makes you think otherwise.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up
