New Super Lucky’s Tale is a cute and colorful platformer. This is actually a remake of Super Lucky’s Tale, which wasn’t received very well given its flaw, so this version gives it some much need improvements such as a reworked story, an expanded cast, camera control, but most importantly, tighter controls and better level design.
You control Lucky, a fox with the usual platforming abilities. He can jump, swing his swing as an attack, and burrow into the ground. The only thing missing from his arsenal which would seem like a good addition would be the ability to dash even faster. This is because the levels feel like they can be fun to speed run through at a faster pace than Lucky’s default running speed.
The level designs aren’t too bad, although they’re generally on the easier side, particularly if you’re an experienced player. However, it’s because of the lower difficulty that they are still fun. The levels have basic enemies which telegraphs their attacks in an obvious manner. They’re easily defeated by either jumping on top of them or by Lucky swinging his tail against them. Apart from avoiding the obstacles, there are coins to collect which are used to buy different costumes for Lucky to wear.
There are different types of levels, with the general one being 3D platforming. There are also 2D sidescrolling stages, as well as ones where Lucky autoruns. Within each level are a few secret areas to find and optional mini challenges like timed sections. Further adding to the variety are the levels which has you complete tasks given by the NPCs. These levels still have platforming elements but has a bit of a quest design to it. No matter which type of level it is, each one will have four objectives that’ll reward Lucky with a clover page. One is for completing the level, one for collecting at least 300 coins, one for finding the clover page hidden in the level, and one is for collecting all five letters of “LUCKY” in the level. This adds a bit of replayability to go back to levels to get the pages you may have missed the first time around.
The levels are accessed via hub worlds, of which there are five in total. These hub worlds also contains minigames which are either puzzles or a marble type game where you use the analogue stick to tilt the board. The game follows a typical platformer structure where you beat a bunch of levels in each hub to collect a certain number of pages before unlocking the boss. The bosses will then have three phases before you beat them.
The story is basic. Lucky is a part of the Guardian Order that protects the Book of Ages. Lucky was pulled into the book when the villains attack. Thus, he goes through the worlds in order to collect the pages. The game has a colorful aesthetic, although the graphics are on the simpler side, it still works though. It’s a short game, given that it takes only around four to five hours to get to the credits while collecting most of the pages in the progress. The three hits that Lucky can take is not really a problem throughout the game until the final boss given how much longer it is compared to the other boss battles.
After the credits, there is one last hub world which has harder versions of the minigames as well as harder levels. The levels are tougher, yes, but they’re also a bit more trial and error based. Some sections rely on you knowing what comes next. At the same time, it is also quite fun when you manage to pass the levels. To be fair, these levels aren’t extremely difficult, just a tad annoying and with practice, you’ll be able to easily get through them. A slight disappointment with the game though is that all of Lucky’s abilities are available from the start. You don’t get to gain any new ones throughout the game.
Overall, New Super Lucky’s Tale is a fun platformer. It’s easy but that isn’t necessarily a negative as the level design is good and varied enough to keep you engaged and interested. It’s a bit on the simpler and shorter side given that Lucky doesn’t gain any new abilities during this adventure and the story is quite basic. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile experience, especially if you wanted to take a break between longer games due to its more relaxing and fun nature.
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