Doki Doki Universe Review

Doki-Doki Universe (PS4) – not all the natives are friendlyThe co-creator of ToeJam & Earl returns to video games with a surreal lesson on how to make friends and influence people.It may not be the average hardcore gamer leading the call, but after a spate of ultra violent sequels there’s often talk from certain quarters about why there can’t be more ‘nice’ video games. The problem is there’s so few existing games that would qualify that it’s hard for anyone to know exactly what they’re asking for.

Doki-Doki Universe is a charming interactive game world that takes you on a journey to explore the concept of humanity. Players will travel to uniquely themed.

Wizard of Wor is a classic shooter game. You control a soldier armed with a laser rifle, and work your way through dungeons packed with fire-breathing monsters. As always in games of this type and age, the first dungeon is a yawner, but the pace will pick up soon, and you'll definitely be sweating before the game ends. If you haven't played Wizard of Wor or want to try this action video game, download it now for free! Published in 1982 by Commodore Japan Limited, Wizard of Wor (aka The Incredible Wizard, Le Magicien de Wor, ウィザード・オブ・ウォー) is still a popular arcade title amongst retrogamers, with a whopping 4.5/5 rating. Download Wizard Of Wor for free. Midway Wizard Of Wor Archive. Midway 1980 Wizard Of Wor Arcade.

But Doki-Doki Universe is one example.Animal Crossing would be another, but the immediate problem with any game that abandons violence is that it immediately gets accused of not being a game at all. And it’s certainly true that Doki-Doki Universe is not exactly drowning under a heavy weight of complex gameplay mechanics. What it does have, however, is you acting as a marriage counsellor to a family of penguins and zooming around the galaxy on a flying poo. AdvertisementDoki-Doki Universe (doki-doki is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a beating heart, although developer HumaNature Studios are from California so we’re not sure where that name came from) is the latest game from ToeJam & Earl co-creator Greg Johnson and all though the similarities between the two games are negligible they do exist.The game casts you as a socially awkward robot named QT3 whose told he and his fellows are for the scrapheap unless they can learn to interact properly with people. What this means in gameplay terms is 20-odd planets filled with surreal inhabitants, all of whom have some sort of personal problem for you to solve.If you had to pigeonhole Doki-Doki Universe you could vaguely describe it as a graphic adventure. The puzzles aren’t really of LucasArts style complexity though, as the primary means to solve any problem is to get people to open up and start talking.

This is still not easy though and if a simple hello (or blowing a kiss) won’t work then you have to either find out their secret from someone else or give them a gift.Luckily QT3 can summon these out of thin air and although they’re rarely exactly what’s needed (a bottle of ketchup instead of proper party food, for example) the fun is simply watching the response from the receiver. All of which works a little like Scribblenauts, except with a fiddly interface instead of just typing what you want to appear. AdvertisementAnd although you might be talking to cartoon carrots and giant sea monsters the problems they suffer from are all too realistic. From bullying and feelings of ostracisation to romance issues of every kind the creatures you meet might be absurdly alien but their problems are far more human than those in most video games.Since the game is all about talking it’s a good job the script is as well-written and humorous as it is. Even so it can only take the edge off the fact that there’s little in the way of traditional gameplay or rewards here (just some unlockable costumes and mounts, such as the aforementioned poo).There are a series of bizarre personality quizzes for you to take though (which superhero would you like to be is one of the more sane ones) which gradually builds up to a full personality profile that you can certainly see reflected in your style of play if not your real-world self. In fact depending on how much time you spend on the puzzle-solving the quizzes can easily take up the majority of your play time, and completing them all is the ultimate goal of the game.

So it’s a good job they’re just as amusing as the rest of the dialogue.Doki-Doki Universe is unashamedly sentimental to the point where its feel good message, surreal dialogue, and stick man visuals will have some people dismissing it out of hand. But it’s the sort of game we should see a lot more of, if video games are ever to prove themselves capable of more than just violent catharsis. That doesn’t mean that Doki-Doki gets things exactly right but its gentle whimsy feels like a necessary break from the norm. AdvertisementIn Short: Cute and silly but also impressively insightful when it comes to ordinary people’s wants and desires – even if those ordinary people are portrayed as talking sushi rolls.Pros: Extremely well written and gently amusing at almost every turn. Surprisingly complex themes despite the surreal characters.

Endearing visual style.Cons: Very simplistic gameplay with only a vague sense of progression and little in the way of mechanical variety. May be just too twee for some.Score: 7/10Formats: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), PlayStation 3, and PS VitaPrice: £5.99Publisher: Sony Computer EntertainmentDeveloper: HumaNature StudiosRelease Date: 11th December 2013Age Rating: 7Thoughts? Email or leave a comment below.