KarmaZoo is an infinitely charming and cheerful multiplayer platformer that is impossible not to like, at least on surface level. The wonderfully exquisite pixel graphics seal the deal by having 50 cute animals and items as player characters, a challenging selection as we unlock them with Karma hearts accrued during our adventures. With some clever mechanics and fostering a strong spirit of cooperation, this is a fun journey that will live and die by the might of its player base.

Let’s Escape a Zoo

Legend says that the only way for you to evolve from your primordial blob stage and escape the zoo is by unlocking all the animals in the sanctuary – well, not everyone is an animal, there are items such as a compass, a teapot, or a spring as well. Players do this by entering the Loop and growing the Karma tree, ultimately earning Karma hearts that allow them to unlock more animals with advanced abilities. After a handful of levels, you are free to continue your journey or return to the sanctuary with a whole lot of hearts to use on new animals and a few special abilities.

At heart, KarmaZoo plays as a puzzle platformer with colorful retro graphics for the background and a monochromatic palette for the animals. The contrast is adorable and works in a way that words might not convey, but much of that is due to the noticeable identities and personalities of the tiny sprites, mainly when they burst singing.

KarmaZoo is exclusively multiplayer, from the minimum of two up to 10 players. There’s no solo mode whatsoever, since everything is designed around teamwork, every puzzle requiring at least the combined efforts of two players. The feel-good and laid back style of the gameplay is suddenly shaken up by the sight of a time limit, as players cooperate to grab fruit, keys, solve puzzles, and reach the portal at the end of the stage. While most of it breathes familiarity, there’s one mechanic in particular that is very much unlike anything you’ve seen in most platformers: the halo.

Each animal has their own halo, a circle around them that provides safety and the comforting thought of infinite lives. Animals may die in many ways, but as long as they are together, they instantly respawn nearby and resume their run – death is, in fact, more than a misstep but an actual strategy, as being killed by spikes creates a cute block that can be used as a platform for you and your companions to progress.

The halo is your safe zone, the aura that only works if you are in the vicinity of another player. The more it spreads, the better visibility you have of your surroundings, making the puzzles easier to grasp, the moving platforms easier to jump to, and the valuable fruit easier to spot.

It’s debatable just how much the game gains from the introduction of the halo mechanic. While it enforces this set of rules that players must abide by, it darkens the whole level apart from the areas brightened by the halos, and platforming can be though sometimes as the challenges don’t hold back from a certain point. Opinions will surely be divided by it, as both choices bring their own benefits.

Fruit is of utmost importance, more than what you might initially imagine when you first spot it in the lobby, as you wait for other players to join. Attempting to fully collect it becomes second-nature, working as a bargaining chip for a handful of bonus cards exclusively used during the following stage – the more fruit you have collected, the more cards you can choose from. All players get to vote on their favorite cards, the one with more votes being the chosen. Some of the abilities are very useful, others fun, and a few of them just teasing with you, such as turning everyone into a specific animal, keys glowing in the dark, or adding night vision.

With over 300 levels to tackle depending on a combination of factors, including animals, bonuses, and number of players, there is a lot to discover here and in all likelihood, part of it may remain out of reach even after several days of play.

Animal House

Animals have an exclusive perk beyond the actual fluffy looks, and combining these in a run is sometimes crucial to overcome some obstacles. The frog jumps three times in a row (versus the normal two times of most animals), while the armadillo is immune to spikes, the pig attracts fruit, and the squirrel runs on wheels, among others. Some animals are mandatory for certain parts of each stage, and there’s a bit of a learning curve as you try to discover what goes where, but nothing that turns this into an arduous task.

Singing is something that any animal can do but in their own style, and I couldn’t contain a chuckle or two as I heard some of them – let’s just say that out of tune is an understatement, but everything is forgiven beholding such cuteness. Singing is required to make some platforms turn solid, allowing your partners to jump onto them, or to move platforms to other places. Combining playstyles and discovering how to overcome the puzzles without forgetting about the fickle balance between infinite lives and sudden death brought by the halos is a shadow looming over your performance, alongside complete strangers striving for the same goal.

KarmaZoo is fun when you get players sharing the same mindset of looking for hidden collectables and with enough dexterity to surpass some of the challenges. It’s solid platformer fare with laudable levels of polish and creativity, and the collaboration spirit is reinforced by the existence of a Karma Pass, a free and humorous stab at the traditional premium passes in other games. This time, every player contributes to unlock new animals simply by playing, no matter the platform.

When you feel like taking a break from the loop and going for some straightforward competition, the party mode called Totem offers a selection of mini-games where the uniqueness of the animals is ignored and everyone has the same role. Winning the challenge is more about one’s skills than having an unfair advantage due to a specific animal type. It’s like a streamlined version of the main campaign, where competition replaces cooperation and manages to be fun in a different way.

One final mention goes to the charming soundtrack that includes a few head-bobbing pieces, and this all-seeing, all-knowing entity acting as the narrator with some fun takes and the occasional bout of coughing and stubbornness.

KarmaZoo is the perfect fit for Devolver Digital, a bold and original publisher who has offered us games that many would surely label as out of the box and commercially unviable. This is another example of it, a charming and original platformer with solid gameplay deserving of all the love that players can get it.

Score: 8/10

Pros:

• Over 50 characters with unique charm and abilities
• Clever mechanics and stage design that enforce teamwork
• Party mode focused on straightforward fun
• Cute pixel art graphics
• Low price

Cons:

• Not a glimpse of a solo mode
• Halo mechanic may not appeal to some players

KarmaZoo review code was provided by the publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.