Indie interpretations of classic genres never cease to interest me. It is fascinating to see people try to emulate and improve on things they loved as a kid, to varying degrees of success. Kukoos: Lost Pets is a game that emulates the classic collect-a-thon platformers of the PS1 and N64 era but does so with a style that feels fun and fresh instead of derivative.

Interestingly enough, Kukoos: Lost Pets can be played in single-player or in co-op with up to 4 players. This means that you can easily take friends along for the ride and enjoy the whole game without any alterations or changes. There are twelve characters to play as, so there are plenty of options for visual variety.

Kukoos: Lost Pets puts you in the role of one of the titular Kukoos, who must save their pets after an attempt to make pets more obedient goes haywire. Now the pets are on a rampage, and it is up to you to help get them back under control and save your fellow Kukoos who have been captured in the process. By default, you can run, dash, and jump in order to solve various platforming challenges and defeat enemies.

However, depending on the world you’re in, you’ll have various pets that can help you solve environmental puzzles. One pet early on lets you dash through the air, while another works as a light source in dark caves. All of these pets change how you approach puzzle-solving and platforming, so getting used to the gimmick involved with each pet is important.

As with most platformers of this type, Kukoos: Lost Pets has a lot of things to collect in each level. Defeating enemies counts as a collectible because you are saving the pets from their mind-controlled state. You also collect coins, flowers, and keys, which all serve various purposes. By collecting enough of each of the collectibles, you’ll get a higher star rank in each level. This allows you to unlock bonus levels and can also lead you to extra content.

Kukoos: Lost Pets isn’t groundbreaking in its genre. However, it does everything you’d want it to do, and it does it well. The boss battles are fun, the levels are colorful, and each world has its own distinctive identity that matches the mechanics involved. Everything you’re after for a nostalgia trip is right here in the package, and on Switch it makes even more sense to take it on the go.

I don’t really have any complaints with Kukoos: Lost Pets, other than the fact that the tutorial sometimes tells you how to do things after you need to do them the first time. It’s a minor complaint, but in a game like this, there’s not much to complain about. It won’t meet any Game of the Year metrics, but it will definitely scratch the itch if you want a fun platformer.

Overall, Kukoos: Lost Pets is a great game for kids or the whole family to play together. At the same time, if you’re a ’90s kid just wanting to relive the nostalgic days of those classic platformers, that’s definitely on the table too. Either way you slice it, Kukoos: Lost Pets is a surprisingly good attempt at recapturing the magic of those nostalgic platformers.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Kukoos: Lost Pets was provided by Modus Games for this review.

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Kukoos: Lost Pets

$29.99 USD

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Can be Played Solo or Multiplayer
• Colorful Characters and Levels
• Fun, Classic Gameplay
• Great for Families
• Simple Controls

Cons

• Story Isn't Great
• Doesn't Bring too Many Unique Features