Derpy Conga

Genre: 3D Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Derpy Conga is a 3D Platformer with Puzzle-Platformer elements released on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2022. This game has players controlling an ever-growing group of odd alien creatures as they join hands and use their combined efforts to get past environmental puzzles to collect the parts they need to repair a device that will defend them from an incoming meteor strike.

The presentation here has its charms, but it’s rough. The odd critters you’ll be recruiting are cute and have a lod of personality despite having a limited range of animations and vocalizations, and the world they inhabit is colorful and has a decent amount of detail. Unfortunately, the pop-in here is pretty atrocious, and the framerates are woefully inconsistent. It’s still playable, but it’s far from anything impressive. These visuals are backed by a lighthearted and somewhat minimal soundtrack that puts the focus on the critters and their struggles.

Unfortunately, “struggle’ will be the key word here, as controlling these critters can be a pain. Making jumps that would be simple in any other platformer becomes painful here, as you’re noy just trying to get one critter from a platform to another, but the collective group as a whole, and often you’ll find that there are enough critters dangling off the edge drag down the rest that made a jump just fine.

However, the real enemy here is the game’s camera, which refuses to stay put after you move it, always insisting at following directly behind your group at a designated height, even if you want a better perspective during difficult maneuvering.

These issues combined can make completing even the most simple of tasks a chore, and while I really appreciate Derpy Conga’s charm and originality, it’s hard for me to overlook its flawed and frustrating gameplay. If you’re looking for a somewhat unique 3D Platformer with cute characters and a unique central mechanic, Derpy Conga may still appeal to you, but you’ll need a mountain of patience to put up with its problems.

tl;dr – Derpy Conga is a 3D Platformer where players collect a group of alien critters holding hands to complete tasks. It’s a fun concept, and the game has a fair amount of charm, but performance issues, terrible platforming, and an atrocious camera all make this a far more grueling experience than it needs to be.

Grade: C-

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