This review contains spoilers
Short, but a fun precision platformer! I liked the gimmick of customizing your own difficulty by placing checkpoints wherever you'd like, as well as how you have to think more strategically once it's revealed they can get erased later in the game
Minimal precision platformer with a good amount of optional challenge. Visuals are nicely detailed despite the 3-colour palette.
Another tasty little morsel of a platformer. Kinda renders the first game obsolete since it contains all of Love's levels in addition to the new ones.
All 41 levels completed, across both the LOVE and kuso sets. A minimalistic 2D platformed, kuso's levels are well-designed and satisfying to complete, while the inclusion of all levels from the developer's previous game, LOVE, makes this package all the better. I'm no speedrunner so a single playthrough was enough to satisfy me, even with fairly poor end-game scores, but this will be ideal for those who do enjoy speeduns, with a range of different game modes offering a stiffer challenge.
Not as bad as the title suggests. Great little platformer from hell. Soundtrack is a belter too
Kuso is a 2D platformer that prides itself in being “challenging yet fair”. Kuso is the sequel to 2014’s LOVE and, to it’s pride, Kuso doesn’t mess around in its difficulty, but at the same time, it keeps puzzles and platforming fair. There’s no Castlevania-esque hardships for the sake of it. I received a Steam copy to cover back when the game out, but for this review I played on the Nintendo Switch. I also have not played LOVE at all, so let’s see how well a newcomer can jump in.
Kuso begins by giving the player a simple tutorial, it’s non-intrusive and can be returned to at any time from the menu. After that you’re given a few different games modes to choose from: Unlimited, Arcade, Hard, Speedrun, and Level Select. Most of the modes allow you to play the same levels in slightly different ways. Such as with limited lives or a time-limit. This is appreciated for replayability, but not something I’m personally into. Kuso has twenty-five levels for you to play, it also includes LOVE which is another sixteen levels, and lastly there are ten bonus levels.
Kuso as a platformer plays fine enough, the character immediately moves whenever the stick is tilted. This should create fluidity, but it ends up feeling too snappy, which is not good for a platformer. You, as the player, can create a singular check-point anywhere in the stage, but there are quite a few restrictions to this, which makes it fair. For example, you can only be on the ground to generate check-points. If something that would kill you touches your check-point, it destroys the check-point. So, you have to be careful where you’re placing your lifeline. If your check-point is destroyed, your spawn is set back to the start of the level. As such, if you die you’re restarting the level, however, if you survive to place another check-point, no penalty is dished out. There is also a remote kill button, I found absolutely no use for it, and its existence absolutely baffles me. Kuso does a good job keeping you hooked though, even with the odd controls.
Kuso begins by giving the player a simple tutorial, it’s non-intrusive and can be returned to at any time from the menu. After that you’re given a few different games modes to choose from: Unlimited, Arcade, Hard, Speedrun, and Level Select. Most of the modes allow you to play the same levels in slightly different ways. Such as with limited lives or a time-limit. This is appreciated for replayability, but not something I’m personally into. Kuso has twenty-five levels for you to play, it also includes LOVE which is another sixteen levels, and lastly there are ten bonus levels.
Kuso as a platformer plays fine enough, the character immediately moves whenever the stick is tilted. This should create fluidity, but it ends up feeling too snappy, which is not good for a platformer. You, as the player, can create a singular check-point anywhere in the stage, but there are quite a few restrictions to this, which makes it fair. For example, you can only be on the ground to generate check-points. If something that would kill you touches your check-point, it destroys the check-point. So, you have to be careful where you’re placing your lifeline. If your check-point is destroyed, your spawn is set back to the start of the level. As such, if you die you’re restarting the level, however, if you survive to place another check-point, no penalty is dished out. There is also a remote kill button, I found absolutely no use for it, and its existence absolutely baffles me. Kuso does a good job keeping you hooked though, even with the odd controls.
The LOVE levels are good, but noticeably less quality than kuso’s original levels, they attempt and succeed at the same basic fundamentals. These levels make me want to attempt LOVE, something I may do in the future. The bonus levels are generally decent. You have a mix of LOVE+ levels, remixes, and a credits stage. All around, it’s not terrible to play through, but I enjoyed the other forty-one levels more. One major issue in general is that some hazards are hard to see because of the art style, because things blend in and patterns bleed together since most objects are white. That being said, it is usually not too bad.
Kuso is a very enjoyable experience. It’s not a particularly long game, but it’s got a lot more going for it in length than other games I’ve reviewed. The main levels will run you about fifty minutes, though they’re not all kuso has to offer. There’s also two player co-op and other modes like Speedrun. Your enjoyment of those modes all depend on your taste as they aren’t much different than the regular experience. If you’re looking for challenging and meaty game, this may not be for you. If you want something tough but fair, and don’t care about length, this might be right up your alley. If this review intrigued you, there is a free demo on Steam, I recommend you check it out if you’re at all interested.
Kuso begins by giving the player a simple tutorial, it’s non-intrusive and can be returned to at any time from the menu. After that you’re given a few different games modes to choose from: Unlimited, Arcade, Hard, Speedrun, and Level Select. Most of the modes allow you to play the same levels in slightly different ways. Such as with limited lives or a time-limit. This is appreciated for replayability, but not something I’m personally into. Kuso has twenty-five levels for you to play, it also includes LOVE which is another sixteen levels, and lastly there are ten bonus levels.
Kuso as a platformer plays fine enough, the character immediately moves whenever the stick is tilted. This should create fluidity, but it ends up feeling too snappy, which is not good for a platformer. You, as the player, can create a singular check-point anywhere in the stage, but there are quite a few restrictions to this, which makes it fair. For example, you can only be on the ground to generate check-points. If something that would kill you touches your check-point, it destroys the check-point. So, you have to be careful where you’re placing your lifeline. If your check-point is destroyed, your spawn is set back to the start of the level. As such, if you die you’re restarting the level, however, if you survive to place another check-point, no penalty is dished out. There is also a remote kill button, I found absolutely no use for it, and its existence absolutely baffles me. Kuso does a good job keeping you hooked though, even with the odd controls.
Kuso begins by giving the player a simple tutorial, it’s non-intrusive and can be returned to at any time from the menu. After that you’re given a few different games modes to choose from: Unlimited, Arcade, Hard, Speedrun, and Level Select. Most of the modes allow you to play the same levels in slightly different ways. Such as with limited lives or a time-limit. This is appreciated for replayability, but not something I’m personally into. Kuso has twenty-five levels for you to play, it also includes LOVE which is another sixteen levels, and lastly there are ten bonus levels.
Kuso as a platformer plays fine enough, the character immediately moves whenever the stick is tilted. This should create fluidity, but it ends up feeling too snappy, which is not good for a platformer. You, as the player, can create a singular check-point anywhere in the stage, but there are quite a few restrictions to this, which makes it fair. For example, you can only be on the ground to generate check-points. If something that would kill you touches your check-point, it destroys the check-point. So, you have to be careful where you’re placing your lifeline. If your check-point is destroyed, your spawn is set back to the start of the level. As such, if you die you’re restarting the level, however, if you survive to place another check-point, no penalty is dished out. There is also a remote kill button, I found absolutely no use for it, and its existence absolutely baffles me. Kuso does a good job keeping you hooked though, even with the odd controls.
The LOVE levels are good, but noticeably less quality than kuso’s original levels, they attempt and succeed at the same basic fundamentals. These levels make me want to attempt LOVE, something I may do in the future. The bonus levels are generally decent. You have a mix of LOVE+ levels, remixes, and a credits stage. All around, it’s not terrible to play through, but I enjoyed the other forty-one levels more. One major issue in general is that some hazards are hard to see because of the art style, because things blend in and patterns bleed together since most objects are white. That being said, it is usually not too bad.
Kuso is a very enjoyable experience. It’s not a particularly long game, but it’s got a lot more going for it in length than other games I’ve reviewed. The main levels will run you about fifty minutes, though they’re not all kuso has to offer. There’s also two player co-op and other modes like Speedrun. Your enjoyment of those modes all depend on your taste as they aren’t much different than the regular experience. If you’re looking for challenging and meaty game, this may not be for you. If you want something tough but fair, and don’t care about length, this might be right up your alley. If this review intrigued you, there is a free demo on Steam, I recommend you check it out if you’re at all interested.
The best part of the game is getting to the end and being proud you beat it and then the game gives you a letter grade telling you you're dogshit
Love 2: Kuso is a fun, snappy platformer with a different soundtrack for every level, and obstacles that move to the beat.
A very strong follow-up. At its core, it's just more simple precision platforming, with striking three-color visuals, a great soundtrack and extremely tight controls. But it's bigger, more interesting, and includes a 60fps remaster of the first game's levels.
Trippy as hell, soundtrack is 10/10