NOTE:
This is a repost review, that was previously posted on the curate forum.... Since I'm gonna post my indie reviews here now, this review was also moved. A brand new review has already been written and will come next weekend, so stay tuned, folks!
Well the title of this game reminded me first of all of the "Commander Keen" series by iD software, but this game has despite its name NOTHING TO DO AT ALL with the Commander Keen franchise, the genres are not even alike. ;)
Sometimes you really get past games you really have to try and "Keen" was definitely one of those games.
Keen is a puzzle game with a slight adventure/RPG element in it. Let's take it in a closer look
A quick overview
This is you. Kim, a 12 years old girl wielding a huge blade while running on roller skates, with a very rebellious attitude basically in disagreement with anything her grandmother (who is also her fighting trainer) tells her. We all LOVE cute girls with a rebellious attitude, and since they've become rather cliché lately, it's always a big challenge to make such characters work. Keen does the trick first of all due the the splendid work that was done on the artwork. Kim's look totally fit her attitude, and yet the heart tattoo on her face and the piggy tails give her a cute look. The game has a minimal scenario (which is only fitting for the genre) but the scenario that was given, is totally in character and well-written.
When it comes to the story line the original game's description states the following:
In a remote village where everyone is given a specific role, Kim was chosen as their guardian. Peace reigned for centuries, and the warrior role was a mere tradition tracing back to ancient times of conflict.
Soon after Kim turned twelve, a distress call was sensed by her trainer - her own, adorable grandmother - who ordered her to protect the village against an impending attack.
Kim was sent to fight without even knowing what violence was. Following a trail of brainwashed minions and high-tech robot soldiers, she would soon find herself in the middle of a world-domination plot carried on by an evil corporation.
Maybe not the best of story-lines around, but hey this is a puzzle game, not a jRPG, and due to that the plot is not requiring much, and since the game's aim was to keep the scenario to a minimum, the plot is good enough. The focus lies on the gameplay, and that will be the next section of this review.
Gameplay
Well the graphics are cute and spot on, and so is the audio, but what about the only part of the game that REALLY MATTERS? The gameplay? Well the basic setup is easy to understand. All you can basically do is MOVE Kim around. If she manages to hit something evil she'll attack it, if she comes next to an enemy but she was unable to attack it, the enemy will hit her. Kim however moves very fast and only stops when an obstacle blocks her way. You cannot stop her yourself. The game is turn-based, so the enemies only move when you do. So this game is not about speed, it's about a good visual insight and using your brain. And when you do not use your brain you'll very likely get Kim killed. The controls are very easy, and the game is very fast passed, and yet offers a challenge which makes Keen an outstanding combination for a puzzle game. Actually the fast action shown every turn makes you forget that you sometimes need a lot of time to think about your next move.
When it comes to originality, I can't say I ever played a game with a similar concept before, but hey, I never said I played everything out there :)
Hey Jeroen, you've been praising this game all the time now. Don't you have anything bad to say?
Well, actually I have. It is clear to me when I look at the layout of the menu and the scenario the developers had a very specific brand of joypad in mind. The XBox model, I think. I played this game with keyboard and since both arrow keys as WASD is supported this doesn't really bother me much, however.
Okay I could user ENTER as A (confirmation) and ESCAPE as B (Cancel), which were the obvious keys anyway.
"Press SELECT to view the map".... Right... There we go, what is the keyboard equivalent to "SELECT" since a "SELECT" key does not exist on a regular microsoft keyboard (yes I have a windows keyboard despite the fact I'm a mac user).
Lastly, I once coded an RPG myself and had a joypad with a PlayStation layout, so I set the buttons the way as they were on a "real" PlayStation in 80% of the RPG games for that console. But... When a friend of mine tried my game he had a joypad of a complete different brand, and model and suddenly the button layout made no sense at all anymore. To cut to the case, I learned a very valuable lesson that day and that is that you cannot assume everybody uses the same joypad, and every brand sends its own codes to the computer as well. Since this game is a kickstarter project I assume some commercial intent is behind the game, and when paying for a game I think a proper support for multiple joypads, or at least a way to properly configure your key setup, so every joypad can be supported is essential.
A few final notes
Keen is a project with extremely much potential and it seems to nail it where it counts. This review is based on an alpha version that only features the first few missions, and what I saw was promising, and if the full game lives up to the expectations this alpha version created we got an absolute top game.
The game is written in Unity and works on Windows and Mac. Of course, since Apple by defaults blocks all developers who do not pay them $100 a year as sign you can trust them, Mac users will have the first time you run the game click the icon with the right mouse button and click "Open" in the menu that pops up. (Client users will normally not suffer from this).
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