Nikoderiko: The Magical World review

Once every now and again, there comes along a video game that feels like the developers have looked inside your brain, poked about a bit and then plucked out just the right thing, at just the right moment. In my case, VEA Games must have seen the platformer shaped hole left in my soul after my recent time with Astro Bot and gave me a little something to ease the emptiness in the form of Nikoderiko: The Magical World.

Nikoderiko, a name that I still fumble over every now and then, is a colourful, fun-filled platformer that draws upon the ideas from a number of classic titles, gives them a good old remix, and comes out with something special that will check all the right boxes for anyone who loves platform titles from the 90s and early 2000s.

Playing as the titular Niko, or indeed as his partner and female counterpart Luna, you are tasked with recovering an ancient relic from the big bad, Grimbald to save the island. Facing off against the Cobring army, it’s a great excuse to jump, swing, swim, and battle your way across seven unique areas, whilst collecting glistening gems, golden keys and friendly bugs along the way.

I’ll say right from the off: Nikoderiko: The Magical World is a bit of a looker. It’s a bold, bright world that you are thrown into, with larger than life enemies, often themed around a mining company, as well as the local fauna who are always ready to fly right in your way at a difficult moment or scuttle after you, adding pressure to an already tense chase. There’s a family-friendly, Saturday morning cartoon vibe with the visuals, all saturated colours and dynamic lighting. That feeling is further brought home by the characters themselves, Niko himself coming across as the mongoose version of a certain Drake family member. Whilst there’s no real depth to them, the characters are well established from the opening moments and are hard to find fault with, the voice acting doing a solid job portraying the cheek and sass of our protagonists.

The soundtrack has been produced by none other than David Wise, the man behind the classic Donkey Kong soundtracks, as well as the more recent Yooka-Laylee games, and Snake Pass. These are as catchy as you’d expect, with melodies that will stick in your brain, you’ll catch yourself humming as you stand doing the dishes hours later. Each tune perfectly matches the biome that you are currently traversing, be it rich tropical jungles or frigid arctic wastes, the music is a standout throughout Nikoderiko: The Magical World.

These varied levels will see you not only bouncing from enemy to rope swing to pillar in traditional 2D platformer style, but will also take a more three dimensional turn at times, very much reminiscent of Crash Bandicoot, running either further into or away from the screen as you are pursued by gnashing creatures or as you search for hidden collectibles to add toward your completion attempt. These are fun little nostalgic diversions from the moment to moment gameplay that I really appreciated, each raising a smile, whilst the meat of the game is very much influenced by the Donkey Kong titles.

With memorable bosses to batter at the end of each world, each with a unique mechanic to get to grips with as you whittle them down, there’s always something new to see and do. There are three lovable creatures to ride through the levels, making things easier for younger players or allowing access to otherwise inaccessible areas. There’s frantic minecart chases seeing sparks fly and last minute leaps across huge gaping chasms. Beautifully back-lit silhouette levels hide secrets to stumble over. Cannons will fire you in and out of the screen as you grab golden bugs to be spent in the post-level shop for character models and concept art (not to mention the soundtrack to be played at your leisure). It’s all present and correct, so much so that this feels like the pseudo-sequel to Tropical Freeze that I’ve needed in my life since 2014, even down to the collectible “NIKO” letters scattered throughout each level.

This is a love letter to everything that I adore in the genre and I can’t recommend it enough. With couch co-op also available, a reduced difficulty level and genuinely likeable, larger-than-life characters, it’s perfect to be played with younger gamers as well as those over 40 who want a hit of nostalgia in their life. Nikoderiko: The Magical World looks fantastic, plays brilliantly, and hits all of the right spots. It’s fair to say that I’m already looking forward to a sequel to what has become one of my surprise standouts of 2024.