Local co-op has never been more accessible, yet it’s a pretty rare feature. Multiplayer today has been mostly relegated to the online sphere, where gamers are more distant than ever, and the human factor of playing together might as well not exist. When you play with people online, you may as well be playing with AI.
Given the popularity of the Kirby games and 2D Mario games, it’s surprising how few indie developers attempt to follow their example with original action platformers with co-op. These are inherently fun premises that foster chaos and funny situations when there are different players of varying skill working together.
Long metroidvanias got you down? Got an itch for a mascot platformer to play with friends and family? Here comes the Kemono Heroes to save the day!
This is a review coupled with a supplemental video review. You can watch the video review or read the full review of the below:
Kemono Heroes
Developer: Mad Gear Games
Publisher: JanduSoft
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
Release Date: March 27, 2025
Price: $14.99
Kemono Heroes is an unapologetic retro game with arcade sensibilities. It barely bothers with much of a story; all you get is some kind of evil moon turns people into stone, and some yokai are causing havoc, leading to a fox, squirrel, monkey, and a cat to thwart the villainy and serve some justice on the side.
The only thing you need to think about is settling on which of the four characters you want to play as for the journey. The fox has a longer-than-average sword slash. The monkey’s attack is shorter but has a vertical swing, and he can dangle on hanging ropes. The cat can climb walls, Mega Man X style, and the squirrel can glide.
The cornerstone to a good action platformer is the kinesthetic feedback of controls and Kemono Heroes has it in spades. Movement is fluent and responsive. Slashing at foes or rapid firing shurikens feels nice and violent with pixelated flashes and crunchy sound effects. Enemies explode into massive gold coins or food which satisfies the desire for gory imagery while maintaining a kid-friendly rating.
Parties won’t be able to double or triple up on a single character. Sorry, only one person can play as the fox. Not that it matters too much, since as the game progresses, everyone gains permanent upgrades after every boss. The grappling hook makes it so anyone can climb any way. Everyone gets to charge their melee weapon for a long-range attack, and everyone gets bombs.
Between stages is the tengu merchant who sells health and magic refills, as well as permanent upgrades for HP and weapon attacks. This is where the utter chaos in the game occurs because the currency is earned by killing everything that moves and chasing caches of cash. The competition to line coffers with four players acting like the wild animals they are is hilarious and thrilling.
The level design and stage gimmicks are varied and never repeat during Kemono Heroes‘ lean play time. One level will be set in a burning forest, another will require players to avoid the gaze of a petrifying eyeball.
There’s a shoot-em-up stage and even a vertical climbing level. While none of it is original, Kemono Heroes’ levels are exceptionally executed and playful enough to please the most jaded gamers.
The pixel art and animation are top-notch; sitting somewhere between Rocket Knight Adventures and Metal Slug, but with a feudal Japanese flavor. Characters and foes alike are bursting with personality and expressiveness, with tons of frames of animation and bounciness.
The background art is especially pleasing and scenic. The palette is something out of a 32-bit game, lush with details and moving sprites. Incidental characters in the background add flair and contribute to environmental storytelling, conveying more emotion and feeling than expository text ever could. Kemono Heroes is a beautiful game that shows the full potential of what pixel art in games can be.
The only disappointment with Kemono Heroes is how fast it ends. There are only 12 stages, which would be fine for a coin-op arcade game, but this is a console game. Mascot platformers like this in the 90s would have more levels than this. Sonic 2 has about 20, which is ideal for games like this, and never felt like it overstayed its welcome.
Replay value is fairly low, and there are no unlockable characters. While the core game is worth replaying for the sheer fun of it, it would have been nice if there were more incentive or some kind of change to the game upon completing it.
Kemono Heroes has spikes of challenge where the enemy count gets a bit absurd. Surprisingly, it has very easy boss fights, especially with multiple players. With everyone working together, it’s easy to utterly melt a boss before it has a chance to complete a pattern of attack.
When fighting alone, the bosses aren’t much harder. Reviving fallen friends barely comes at a cost and prevents them from losing their lives. With enemies that can randomly drop health and the unbelievably destructive power from charged attacks, it’s easy to restore lost health, too.
Kemono Heroes is a riotous mad dash, whether you play it alone or with friends. A lot of care was poured into the pixel art, and the frantic, kinetic pace of the action grabs you by the throat and runs.
Kemono Heroes may not be that challenging, but that’s because the hardest part is working together with the friends you made along the way. The only problem you’ll have is that you’ll wish it lasted longer.
Kemono Heroes was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch using a code provided by JanduSoft. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Kemono Heroes is now available for PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
