Kinetic Edge (Computer)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): February 5, 2021
- Publisher: SCT
- Developer: SCT
- Genres: Physics Racing-Platformmer
Game Features:
Developed and published by SCT, Kinetic Edge is a physics-based racing platformer featuring a variety of game modes and a sharp aesthetic. Does it play as sharp as it looks or is that edge dulled? Let’s get started.
Fun with shapes
Once you get past the title and seizure warning, you are greeted with the main menu and the usual choices; single player, multiplayer, quick match and so on. Once you have decided, the game will recommend going through the tutorial. Messages displaying the controls, which can be reassigned, float in game space and present them as a small challenge. You can jump, dash forward and also blast other players away, with each having a gauge that will recharge after use, forcing you to time things out and plan a bit. There are bumpers, panels that rocket in their direction or launch you up, which can aid or hinder you depending on placement, alongside other obstacles like rotating or moving platforms. Falling off will result in a respawn at the last checkpoint and is added to the respawn count, which doesn’t really do anything except let you know how many times you failed.
Kinetic Edge isn’t limited to a sphere either. There are a number of different shapes you can choose from before you start or during play through the use of a gateway. You got your typical shapes, like a square, cylinder and pyramid, but there are some others like a flat octagon and icosahedron (or a d20 for you tabletop nerds) to mix things up with. As you would expect, being physics-based, each has their own set of pros and cons. Something like a cube will catch easily on a slope but doesn’t pick up the same speed as the sphere. Most anything with an edge to it, especially when you are flying around or going top speed, result in some pretty chaotic movement. Thankfully the controls are tight and responsive and shows off the polish they put into it. Once you get a feel for them and the physics, which I’d say is borderline realistic, avoiding hazards like pits or trying for shortcuts become quite simple.
There are five different game modes, each with their own courses to choose from. All but one, Arena, is available in single player. The remaining four are Race, Maze, Golf and The Gauntlet. They're all pretty self-explanatory so rather than explain each in detail, I'll just go over them briefly, mostly comparing differences. For the most part, Maze and Golf just remove the aforementioned abilities like jumping, dashing and with the golf, you instead aim and charge the strength of the shot, trying for the lowest possible number as opposed to the time based scoring. Both were a good time but I really enjoyed the design of most of the holes when playing golf, though a few of them are so unfair that it gets infuriating and takes away from the experience, even when you complete them.
The Race mode would be considered the core of Kinetic Edge and each course is made of a series of obstacles, requiring the player to make their way through each checkpoint and reach the goal as quickly as possible. That’s really all there is to it. The courses use a particular gimmick or theme and are pretty well-designed, but there are some issues we will get into shortly. The Shapeshifter is very short but as the name implies, you change shape often and it really challenges your skill at keeping control but not slowing down. The Gauntlet is similar to Race with one real difference; the timer starts at 7 minutes and counts down. Other than that, there isn’t anything different from the Race mode. There are no checkpoints though, so falling out of bounds resets the clock and returns you to start. It’s challenging and I really enjoyed going through multiple times to improve my rank on leaderboard. All the game modes are pretty enjoyable, with Golf and Gauntlet really being the standouts.
Singled out
Sadly, I was unable to try out the Arena or multiplayer in general. Not enough people are currently active as this is a new title, but they are there in the leaderboards at least. Obviously I’m not gonna fault the devs for this but I wish I had been able to race others live instead of against their times. Regardless of that, since there are only a small handful of courses in each game mode, Kinetic Edge can get pretty dull after a few runs and there just isn’t currently enough to do after the first hour or so. Hopefully there are future updates planned with additional courses, new modes like tag or user-created courses. All of these, with user content in particular, would really go a long way with helping replayability and keeping player interest.
The lack of content is certainly an issue, but another, I would say more frustrating, issue would be some of the level design. For the most part, they work as intended but occasionally, you’ll catch yourself on an edge and get sent in the opposite direction. The reason being is most of the platforms you move on are often several smaller ones next to each other. But even the smallest gap can cause large problems. While it didn’t happen all the time, it was often enough that I had to set the game down for a bit, to calm myself, especially when it happened over and over in the same spot while playing golf.
Kinetic Edge is made with Unreal Engine and visually the game just pops with those neon colors edging all the shapes and structures. Everything looks very sleek and sharp, with most surfaces having a metallic black color to them, making those neon colors really stand out all the more. Earlier I said the game opens with a seizure warning and with good reason. These same colors can also become too much, regardless of a sensitivity or not. Especially if you are going down a tunnel or something, they start reflecting off everything and create what can only be called color vomit. With so many flashing and contrasting colors, it got overwhelming for me multiple times and I had to pause the game and rest my eyes. It was also really difficult to tell just where I was or what I was going on due to all the different colors. There really isn’t much to say in regards to the audio; the soundtrack is synthy electronica and matches the visual aesthetic quite well. It’s good, it’s catchy but beyond that, there really isn’t much else to be said.
Keep on rolling
Kinetic Edge is a pretty fun game with a lot of potential to get better over time. It’s simple and pretty straightforward but can provide a good challenge all the same. It has some design issues, both with courses and visuals, but not too much that it ruins the overall experience. If you like racing, golf or just trying to be number one, this might be a game worth looking at. I know I’ll be rolling through from time to time.
Verdict
- Excellent physics gameplay
- Visually pleasing
- Various game modes
- Some design issues
- Visuals can get overwhelming though
- Small number of courses
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