DragoDino review – We Need Dino-Dragon Power, NOW!

Yes, we do Mighty Morphine power Rangers jokes too! Next up In the ever expanding rogue like platformer range on the Switch eshop Is Teal Rocks DragoDino. It’s got a lovely cell shaded aesthetic with some smooth looking animations but a soundtrack that belongs in the background, It does share similarities to every single bloatware Android/iOS title available. So lets leave that there, onward to the game itself.

DragoDino follows a little Dragon called “Bob” who’s on a quest up a larger than life tree to reclaim his stolen Dragon Egg. Naturally, he’s not happy, think about it; if someone stole one of this writer’s kids I would at least expect them to store said kids somewhere safe so I didn’t feel as guilty for the relief.

There is however a harder mode with one life to unlock down the line, should the mood strike you

Choose Your Own Bob

Players have an option of male, female, black or white Bob. DragoDino as a game is a fairly straightforward experience; players simply move up the level. The controls are also simple enough, helped by an unlimited main bullet type attack. This is eventually joined by a special attack or ability which is activated by finding its special stone in the game world. These include shields, blast attacks, longer jumps, glides and so on.

There are two types of jumps: standard jumps which can turn into glides by holding down the B button and vertical jumps which enable the player to escape the level. Vertical jumps increase in range by collecting more crystals from enemies that are holding them. Enemies also drop health crystals which fill up quite a small health bar. This doesn’t hold back the flow given the game’s modest difficulty level. There is however a harder mode with one life to unlock down the line, should the mood strike you.

There are two types of jumps: standard jumps which can turn into glides by holding down the B button and vertical jumps which enable the player to escape the level. Vertical jumps increase in range by collecting more crystals from enemies that are holding them. Enemies also drop health crystals which fill up quite a small health bar. This doesn’t hold back the flow given the game’s modest difficulty level. There is however a harder mode with one life to unlock down the line, should the mood strike you.

The levels are all laid out from the start which eliminates any hint of mystery and puts a dent in its platforming bonnet

Difficulty Plain

Combat is simple enough, no crazy dodge mechanics needed here. It’s just a simple case of timing your hits when enemies are running in the other direction the majority of the time. The problem for this writer is that DragoDino feels like a bit of a chore after a while, nothing really advances in difficulty much.

The levels are all laid out from the start which eliminates any hint of mystery and puts a dent in its platforming bonnet, to be honest. I think a bit more of a zoomed in camera like Rayman would have improved the gameplay massively.

My other major issue with this game Is Load times, I’ve had shorter wait times for Taxis It’s that bad. I’m talking ‘Sonic the Hedgehog for Xbox 360 and PS3′ bad. Boot up from start takes up to two mins, that’s from character selection to level start. With today’s gaming hardware grunt and the undemanding nature of Dragodino, this is a joke.

Verdict

DragoDino is a fun platformer at the start but soon looses its polish but a short while into its four hour run-time. It’s the standard of game you would give to your 4-year-old to have a bash on. Although it’s a nicely presented experience, the load times just ruin the hard work that’s been put into the game.

Formats: Nintendo Switch (reviewed) Steam and Xbox One
Price: £8.99 (Nintendo Switch)
Publisher: Plug In Digital
Developer: Teal Rock
Release Date: 27/04/2018 (Nintendo Switch)
Age Rating: PEGI 3+