Little Deviants Review
Game: Little Deviants
Developer: Bigbig Studios
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Available on: PlayStation Vita only
Sony really do appear to be going with the “something for everyone” ideal when it comes to the PlayStation Vita and its launch titles. Most genres are covered and indeed, most age brackets as well. Little Deviants offers a mini-game collection that would only work with all the player input methods that the PS Vita provides, but is it any good?
Trying to understand quite what is going on in the world of Little Deviants is a task in and of itself, the Little Deviants seem to be playful, insane creatures, with a mutual vendetta against robots. Many of the various mini-games that showcase the Vita’s control input methods will task you with either avoiding the robots (for they will do you harm) or indeed, having a crack at the robots yourself.
Thankfully, despite the madcap tomfoolery there are some seriously fun little games in Little Deviants. Most people with a passing interest will have seen the trailers for the title, showcasing the rear touch panel controlled ground deformation which allows you to move your rolling Deviant around the map, collecting stars and a key to escape the level. This is actually the most awkward and frustrating part of the entire game as you can’t see your fingers through the device and therefore it’s a fairly steep learning curve to get any good at it.
But I digress, let us back up a little and explain how Little Deviants works. The game is made up of areas and inside those areas are multiple mini-games with multiple objectives (think Warioware only with collectible cats with daft names) and as you complete those objectives, more mini-games are opened up with more areas to follow. Each level has bronze, silver and gold medals, which – again – unlock different things depending on the level achieved.
As you progress through the mini-games you’ll realise that Little Deviants isn’t the throwaway mini-game collection it once appeared. Equally it doesn’t quite feel like a fully fleshed out game all on its own. After you’ve gotten to grips with rolling a Deviant around with the rear touch pad, you’ll move onto augmented reality; shooting robots who are trying to capture your Deviant friends. Then you’ll be parachuting from a plane, diving through score-rings, some that require speed, some precision.
Further still into the game you’ll be using the tilt controls to power a speeder-bike through a map whilst being chased by a giant robotic flying fish-type creature. What I’m getting at here, is that somewhere between rolling a Deviant around in a Pac-Man style motion tilt game and playing Whac-A-Mole with robots stood in doorways, there’s something for everyone here.
All of this is wrapped up in a neat package with gorgeous colourful animation, with humorous sound effects that will bring a smile to your face, no matter your age. Despite the Vita having some “hardcore” games in its table already, Little Deviants feels very at home among them.
As you’d expect, there is full Trophy support and even some nice features for the Vita’s Near app. You can drop a present off for potential players to find (via Near) and if they are using the demo version of Little Deviants, they will get something added to their demo. It’s nothing incredible, but it shows the thought that has gone into utilising everything the Vita can do.
VERDICT: It is perhaps overly reductive to call Little Deviants a tech demo, even though it really does guide the user through everything the Vita has to offer control wise, because with the glorious visuals that show off the PlayStation Vita’s stunning OLED screen, there is actually plenty of fun to be had here.
It won’t keep your attention for as long as a game like Uncharted: Golden Abyss or WipEout 2048 may, but give in to its charm and you’ll be more than happy with your purchase, as will any younger members of the PlayStation family.
