Once again I’m here with an admission, and that’s the fact though I’ve been very familiar with the Katamari franchise over the years, and have played titles that are clearly variations on it, until now I’ve never had a chance to check out the mainline series. Given that this is a new entry, and not merely some sort of HD remaster or the like, it at least feels like a good time to hop on board, not being limited by perhaps more stale designs from generations past. The good news is that in general it seems to be completely consistent with what I’d learned to expect, mixing together generally light and silly base play with some weird story elements, resulting in something that’s simply in its own lane when it comes to gameplay.

Looking to help clean up after the messes that feel like they’re almost always the fault of King of All Cosmos, you’ll have to roll around collecting things to help build your ball-like Katamari bigger and bigger in order to meet your objectives. This time around, to help make the different environments you’re in more distinctive from another, you’ll also be moving through time to a variety of eras that each have their own design, quirks, and sometimes challenges. On a general level, there’s a vibe here that feels quite all-ages and for all skill levels, a fact that’s helped by the inclusion of an alternative single-stick control method if the old-school more tank-style setup isn’t your favorite.

Where that concept can break down is in some of the more constrained challenges in some areas that will require you to meet a very specific objective within a given amount of time. This sort of thing really moves the game in a different direction, requiring either that you’re very observant and able to spot every item as you move through the level, or that you mentally map it out a bit through some trial and error. The other stages where the goals are less specific, either getting to a certain size quickly or trying to grow to some more ridiculous size overall, are by comparison more light and fun since you don’t need to try to stay focused on so many details around you. This isn’t a crippling problem, it just feels like it could alienate some players on the lower end of the skill spectrum needlessly, rather than simply giving them a poor grade and letting them move on further from there. Regardless, while this formula has been imitated, it’s clear that the competition simply isn’t able to match the weird charm and general simplicity this series brings to the table.