While there have been plenty of decent platformers of all sorts coming from various indie developers, not all of them have been very memorable. Despite not perhaps being the best executed one I bumped into in the last generation, I will admit that at least I remember playing a bit of Marsupilami - Hoobadventure, though admittedly part of the reason for that may simply be its tongue-twisting name. That said, I do remember that its style and flow were also pretty distinctive, and now with its sequel it feels like the developers doubled down on that initial formula, leaning into at least crafting something that stands out from its typical peers.

Depending on the games you grew up on, you may see inspirations for the game’s style coming from the likes of Sonic, Rayman, or any number of other platformers over the years that went with a more frantic feel overall. While you won’t be charging through zones at breakneck speeds, at least not for long, this is a game that moves pretty fast and equips you with a small arsenal of moves for getting around and tackling enemies. Admittedly, some of these don’t always feel terribly natural, so you may need to spend some time training your brain on the timing and button presses you’ll need to jump, air dash, and then float with the precision you’ll need in order to grab everything you’ll run into, but it’s certainly not an impossible task either.

As an added bonus, you will have the option to play with a friend, and if you don’t have one available you’ll simply be able to switch between characters, bringing their unique skills to the table when trying to tackle a particular section, fight, or puzzle. For the most part the result is pretty approachable, though I will admit that the typical stage you’ll play tends to feel a bit on the long side. In general, while the performance for the most part is able to stay reasonably fluid there does seem to be an overall visual muddiness to everything, which is a shame as given its bright colors and distinctive characters it would have been nice to be able to appreciate them more. While I initially thought this would be a decent candidate for less seasoned gamers, some specific sections and bosses unfortunately get in the way of that recommendation. Though perhaps if you’re ready to lend a hand, or just take the controller for a moment to get them through, this doesn’t have to only be for more refined players on the whole.