Kaze and the Wild Masks Critic Reviews

Normally this is where I’d note some flaw or issue that stops Kaze and the Wild Masks from being absolutely perfect, but I can’t think of a single complaint. It’s just a phenomenally well-done that captures its influences without being completely indebted to them, and it’s one an early contender for one of my favourite games of the year.

An absolute pleasure from start to finish, what Kaze and the Wild Masks lacks in originality it makes up for in the strength of its level design, responsive controls, kinetic move set and attractive visuals. Excellent, action-packed platforming through and through, with great gameplay variety and gimmicks that don’t compromise on what the game is best at – challenging, fast-paced obstacle courses and deviously-hidden secret areas. Easiest sell? Kaze and the Wild Masks is to Donkey Kong Country what Freedom Planet was to Sonic the Hedgehog. Don’t miss this one.

Kaze and the Wild Masks is almost the perfect 90s sidescroller throwback, and a perfect way to fulfill your 5 a day.

Kaze and the Wild Masks is a near-perfect platformer with a lot of charm and entertaining gameplay. It’s just a rush of amazing platforming action chock-full of collectibles and challenge that will have you grinning ear-to-ear like you did in the 90s.

Replace its lead rabbit with an ape in a red tie and you might even say that Kaze and the Wild Masks is Donkey Kong Country 4 in disguise. But, at the end of the day, its lack of originality doesn’t hurt just how much fun it’s been making my way through this eight or so hour adventure. The Donkey Kong Country trilogy was fun for a reason and Kaze and the Wild Masks serves as an excellent reminder of why that was.

Kaze and The Wild Masks takes us back to the classic 90s games, such as Donkey kong, Crash Bandicoot and many other platform games. With great animations and a fun gameplay, this title must be on the list of those who love this type of game.

When all is said and done and you've cleared the main story, which altogether should take you 8-10 hours depending on your skill level, online time trial leaderboards present another way to tackle each stage. With that and unearthing the game's secret levels, there's a lot of content to be found in Kaze and the Wild Masks. It’s a wonderful homage to games I loved in the past and came at a perfect time in my life, helping me get used to my new surroundings. I won't soon be forgetting my time spent with Kaze. If you're in the market for a new 2D platformer, you can't go wrong with harvesting the fruits of PixelHive and Soedesco’s labor, but maybe avoid the sinister-looking carrots.

Kaze and the Wild Masks will make every fan of classic platformers feel right at home. It borrows the best elements from the legends of the genre, but never feels like a cheap copy. It doesn’t try to be innovative, but it looks great, delivers fun in spades and never gets dull, as literally every level has something new to show you.

Kaze and the Wild Masks merges elements from great games of the 16-bit era in order to create a fascinating 2D platformer. Although its influences are clearly visible, these aspects have been developed with modern-day principles to alleviate some of the issues that plagued titles of that period. With an incredible pixel-based art style, euphonious soundtrack and perfect precision-based platforming, Kaze and the Wild Masks is a must for fans of the genre.

Kaze and the Wild Masks is a successful tribute to the 90s thanks to its aesthetics and ever-growing gameplay.

Kaze and the Wild Masks is a great homage to the classics of the genre. It has the appropriate proportions of variety and challenge with an excellent implementation of its aspects.

A good jump&run reminiscent of Donkey Kong Country wrapped in beuatiful pixelart visuals. I wouldn’t mind if Kaze becomes a franchise.

Kaze and the Wild Masks is a cool 2D game. Despite not being original in its proposal, it is a tribute to the 16-bit titles of the 90s. If what you see catches your attention, I certainly recommend it because of how fun its challenges are.

Kaze and the Wild Masks is as gorgeous as it is challenging. Smooth controls feel amazing, and the masks you find truly change your entire gaming experience. While I felt there were too many auto-scroller levels and cheap deaths, there are still plenty of great gameplay moments and replayability to be found. If you want a punishing but rewarding platformer, Kaze and the Wild Masks maybe the humbling experience you’re looking for.

A classic platformer that reminds us of Donkey Kong Country. Fun, beautiful and with tight controls for those feeling a bit nostalgic.

Kaze and the Wild Masks is a nice platformer with cool pixel art visuals, but if the gameplay is good, the difficulty waves from too easy to incredibly hardcore, which is quite a let down. Overall a nice game, even if it's no match for the best productions of the industry, like Ori.

A game that will still appeal to those who love the platform. Just don't expect to be knocked down.

Kaze and the Wild Masks is a solid platformer with its transforming character, healthy number of collectibles, and tough-but-fair bosses. However, it takes a little too much inspiration from Donkey Kong Country, the controls are touchy, and the difficulty ramps up too fast. Still, there are enough positives to make the prospect of a sequel enticing.

Kaze and the Wild Masks is a bit of a hard sell. On one hand it does everything it wants to exceptionally, but what it wants to do has already been done. And, arguably, much better.

I’m settling on the score that I have because I can’t reward work that is this derivative. But despite the score I find this one an easy recommendation for certain players out there. Kaze is a genuinely well-made game and if you like Donkey Kong Country you’re going to like this one, if for no other reason than it’s something of a greatest hits of the best Donkey Kong Country levels. If we see a Kaze 2 (and I hope we will), and the developers show us a little of their own creative ideas in there, then we’ll be looking at some really high scores indeed.