Game: Kinoko
Genre: Adventure, Casual, Relaxing, Indie
System: Steam (Windows) (also available on itch.io)
Developers | Publishers: ThunderLime
Controller Support: Full
Price: US $FREE | UK £ FREE | EU € FREE
Release Date: July 24th, 2020
Review code used, with many thanks to ThunderLime.
Kinoko is a soothing interactive game from ThunderLime. This game is a sort of puzzle game with a strong visual style and a cute story.
The Gameplay and Story
Kinoko is the story of a wizard of the forest. As you travel through the snowy world, you interact with objects in order to change the season from the end of winter to the beginning of spring. The trees become a little greener with every object that Kinoko shakes, shovels, or plants.
The gameplay is very basic; players can move the main character around and interact with items, and that’s basically it. But this game doesn’t need in-depth stories, dialogue, or loads of things to do. The main reason this little game exists is to take the player on a small journey through two seasons.
A Relaxing Little Journey
Between the slow, deliberate movements of Kinoko and the soothing tunes always filling up the background of the game, there is a definite vibe in this game. Players are forced to take their time, which gives them time to really check out all the little details in the environment. You get to meet new fuzzy and furred little friends that are all coming out of hibernation as the spring begins to melt the snow.
As you move through the world, it lights up all the right spots in my brain. It was like all the good vibes burst forth in my brain every time a little friend would walk up to me with a little heart over its head. Like a serotonin shot in the heart with every single little furry face and feathered friend.
The Issues with Kinoko
I didn’t have any issues with this game except one: it had to be played with a controller. When I attempted to play with the mouse and keyboard, I had SO MANY PROBLEMS. For example, there didn’t seem to be an interact button available to players. There is no way to rebind the keys to make one either.
Also, every time I hit one of the buttons (I don’t remember which one it was) on my keyboard, the game would end, saying “Congrats for winning!” but I hadn’t done anything yet. However, all these issues disappeared the moment I plugged in the controller, so players will want to make sure to have that handy. It recommends a Steam controller, which isn’t even made anymore, or an Xbox controller, which I don’t own.
In order to plug my PS4 controller in and get it working, I had to update my controller settings in Steam; this would most likely be the same for Switch Pro controllers or any other plug-and-play devices.
Conclusion
Initially, Kinoko was super frustrating without the controller, but once I got up off my lazy butt and went digging for a controller I could plug in, everything went really smoothly. I love every inch of this game, and I look forward to more from this studio. Also, this game is free! Play it, get friends to play it, and indulge in a little bit of calming slowness in a too-fast, too-hectic world.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up:
