AvoCuddle

Genre: Metroidvania

Players: 1

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Review:

AvoCuddle is a Metroidvania that has you playing as an anthopomorphized avocado looking to save its kidnapped other half. Why an avocado? Because, that’s why.

This game’s presentation is all over the place. It can’t seem to decide if it wants to be silly and whimsical or profound and beautiful. You play a gun-toting avocado with well-animated noodly stick figure limbs… in settings with some really lovely, gorgeously-rendered 2D scenery… with goofy cartoony sound effects (jumping makes a slide whistle sound)… and some really beautiful orchestral music… and some cringe-worthy, sappy writing (much of which seems to have come from someone without a very good grasp of the English language). Oh, and did I mention that you play as a gun-toting avocado?

This game’s presentation had me experiencing some pretty severe mood whiplash, and while many of the various components of this game are very nice on their own, none of them fit together well, and the result feels like a cobbled-together mess. I can’t help but feel that much of what comes across as quality here was simply licensed from outside contractors, and while the game’s designer had a good eye for quality in the work of others, they didn’t necessarily have any great skill or cohesive vision to pull them all together.

This seems to be borne out by the gameplay as well. The game’s physics, platforming, and overall gameplay feel unrefined and messy, with hit detection that feels off and controls that need work. The simple fact that the player is expected to press in and hold the left thumbstick to run in a 2D platformer is absurd. And while the game has some interesting ideas such as gravity-defying areas and some decent puzzles, the amateurish execution of everything makes it difficult to enjoy.

In the end, AvoCuddle is a Frankenstein’s monster of various elements poorly stitched together into a game that just feels wrong. And while there are multiple components of the game that on their own are wonderful, as a whole this endeavor just feels poorly-planned and awkward

tl;dr – AvoCuddle is a Metroidvania that has the player controlling a gun-toting avocado seeking to rescue his mate. This game has a lot of good elements to it, but those elements do not fit together well at all, and the gameplay itself feels shoddy and poorly-designed.

Grade: C-

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