Kamikaze Veggies

Genre: 3D Platformer / Stealth

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local Split-Screen)

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Review:

Kamikaze Veggies, released in 2022 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, is a game that combines a 3D Platformer with Stealth elements in a game that parodies military Stealth games like Metal Gear Solid by having players taking on various anthropomorphic vegetables fighting against an evil anthropomorphic sun-baked tomato (literally, the game tells you the sun drove him insane).

The presentation here seems very amateurish, but it’s not terrible. The game’s visuals are fairly low-poly and mostly untextured, and the walking, talking vegetables that are this game’s characters. Mostly these characters just mumble incoherently, and scream when they’re killed in a shower of body parts and blood (juice?), but levels are introduced by a drill sergeant-type character outlining the mission’s goals. I suppose this is all meant to be funny, but it never really got past “mildly amusing” for me.

This is all backed by a soundtrack with a lot of menu music consisting of what sounds like instrumental surf rock, which I suppose fits the wacky nature of the game, and very subdued music during missions which I suppose works for the game’s heavy stealth elements but runs counter to that wackiness that permeates the game. None of this game’s music is terrible, but it often doesn’t really seem to mesh well with the game.

When it comes to the gameplay itself, players start each mission by selecting their team, with different species (carrot, baby carrot, pea, etc.) all having different traits and different point costs, with players only able to make a team with at most eight characters and within a limited point budget. These team members are not swappable and will not be active at the same time. Rather, they act as your extra lives.

You’ll need those lives too, because your vegetables are largely defenseless, and when enemies spot you they will sprint toward you and take you out with a one-hit kill. Your only way to fend them off will be by procuring weapons on-site or, as a last-ditch effort, using your veggie’s unique kamikaze attack to go out in a blaze of glory and take out enemies and/or enemy structures with you. This is also how levels end, and even if your mission ends with all of your vegetables dead, it’s considered a success if your last vegetable accomplished their goal in the process.

It’s an interesting concept, but it’s unfortunately a bit limited by the game’s level design, which is unfortunately too limited and linear to provide players with the wealth of options the best Stealth games tend to provide. Mostly, players will be looking for what the game’s designers wanted the player to do in each level rather than trying to come up with their own solutions to problems.

As such, Kamikaze Veggies isn’t a terrible game, and it even has a few clever ideas, but it’s not a great entry in the genre. There aren’t many Stealth games on the Nintendo Switch, and you could do worse than Kamikaze Veggies. However, this game never comes close to the likes of Metal Gear Solid, Thief, and Tenchu. It doesn’t even reach the level of Sly Cooper. You may enjoy this game, but keep your expectations low.

tl;dr – Kamikaze Veggies is a 3D Platformer with strong Stealth elements that has you taking on various missions as anthropomorphic vegetables in a military setting. There are some fun ideas here, such as the way you set up your team and the kamikaze mechanic. However, Kamikaze Veggies doesn’t really succeed as a Stealth game due to its limited options, and the presentation doesn’t seem coherent either. You may find some fun to be had in this game, but it isn’t likely to become one of your favorite Stealth games.

Grade: C+

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