Upon loading up Rotastic an energetic but bothersome voice yells about the game being Rotastic or Super Rotastic. While I assure you the game is called Rotastic, the game is not very super. If you play the game for more than a minute and feel like this is super familiar, it’s because the same principals of game play here were found in Carnyvale Showtime. Rotastic is all about swinging around in circles then launching your player towards the target which changes depending on the game’s mission.
The early missions of Rotastic have you simply collecting jewels but later missions almost completely drop this premise. The focus of missions shifts to destroying boxes, hitting switches, or surviving against enemies. It’s this turn that opens up the game but also ruins it. While jewel collecting was simple, this part of the game also focused on style of swinging and less swinging to complete the levels. When the game switches its objectives it becomes a cluster of insanity. There are levels where there is so little room to maneuver in-between obstacles that you have to wonder about design.
No online multiplayer is a big negative especially considering the local only multiplayer is very fun. It focuses on collecting more jewels than your opponents as four characters scramble on a small level trying to grab jewels. Elements like killing opponents by cutting their rope come into play and add a new dimension of strategy.
There is an idea that works in Rotastic but together these ideas just do not work. Sometimes the best solution is to keep the game simple whether that’s collecting jewels, breaking boxes, or puzzles with switches. Rotastic as a whole doesn’t work because the controls don’t mesh with it. The A button lets you swing and you can use bumpers to change direction. Past that, the fate of the game is left to momentum that is correct only half of the time. Inclusion of controls to actually have some say on your swinging flight path would let this game work better.
Pros:
- Jewel Collecting is fun
- Multiplayer is well designed
Cons:
- Controls are too basic for a game that tries to develop depth
- Multiplayer is local only
Score: 2/5
This game did not impress lazyy