[Review] Kukoos: Lost Pets - Nintendo Switch

Developed By: Petit Fabrik
Published By: Modus Games
Categories: 3D Platformer, Co-Op
Release Date: 12.06.22

What are the Kukoos anyway?…I don’t know, but I do like this game. A lot. I’ve been playing a lot of 3D Platformers lately and this one has caught my eye. In Kukoos: Lost Pets, you play as one of 10 (4 at the start) Kukoos, after some recklessness, you’ve made everyone’s pets get lost in far away places due to these odd collars. You’re going to get them back, this is by going through Fwendly Doors, leading you into new worlds.

This is something you’re shown off as early as a fun Takeshi’s Castle/Wipeout inspired obstacle course tutorial, but a big mechanic for Kukoos: Lost Pets is well…the pets! You jump, you roll, sounds normal enough. But you also have access to the pets you save, depending on the area. Need to light up a dark area or wake up some sleepy fellas? How about making another platform that can even drop down and squish enemies? The inclusion of these pets, while at first feels like a fun inclusion, does become vital and just another part of the game. I like it. There are so many platformers that just have…jumping. Maybe good jumping, but I enjoy the extra abilities.

I wasn’t too thrilled with the first world of the game, as it’s dark ruins and catacombs. I enjoyed the Pet you use for it, but the stages didn’t really do it for me. This changed very quickly as world two was a city. City themes for levels in platformers feels a bit under-utilized, so seeing them ever is a joy to me.

Each level has three optional goals. Getting every flower, most of which are pretty well hidden is the first. You’re given an audio cue when close, but you’ll need to be looking around. Next is getting enough of the possessed pets free from their collars. You can go over par, so just attack everything. Last is getting enough coins, another one you can go over par on. Getting enough coins can even open up an extra stage. These stages are tough, but there’s checkpoints in them like any other, so you’ll be able to beat them, I did. If that wasn’t enough replayability then guess what, you can do it all with up to three friends for some four player co-op shenanigans.

Kukoos: Lost Pets is a silly game. From the plot, the characters, the dialog, the music. There’s a few serious parts of this game, but I just found it so hard to not have a bit of a smirk while playing. Some of it does feel a tad juvenile like the doors to worlds being “Fwendly”, but I did get a big kick out of a joke where your character had to drink something to see the door and your grandma who gave you the drink is legitimately surprised that it worked.

Not everything is shiny though. Kukoos runs rather choppy at times. This isn’t good for a platformer. There’s little if any camera control either, another issue. It’s not an issue most of the time, but there’s one segment in a level that bothered me in particular. Dropping blocks, obscured by moving hammers. The former could be fixed by playing a different version, but the latter not so much. We need a little bit more polish for this game and it’d be perfect. Otherwise, it’s still a great time.