Raccoon Rising Review

Romper Games are back, co-ordinating with PixelNauts to release a new title called Raccoon Rising, which is pretty much the polar opposite of their previous title, Doodle Dive. This game has players controlling a ninja raccoon who must rise upward toward the top of each level. He can jump from wall to wall, with the ability to tap and hold to slow down time and charge through objects. He can also dash to the side while in midair.Unlike most ascension platformers, Raccoon Rising is not an endless game; no, this is actually level-based, with 60 short segments over 4 worlds to play.

The game is very good looking, with artwork that's all in 3D. It really shines on the iPad 2 with a variety of visual effects to go along with the 3D graphics. The level-based structure is a nice twist from other ascension platformers, and the boss battles are particularly interesting, especially the final boss battle which introduces some new platforming elements which I hope future content plays around with.

There are a lot of tight angles to try and jump between; it often leads to challenging jumps that often lead to failure due to the small room for the error. An endless mode would be well-appreciated, as the game is kind of short as it is. There just doesn't feel like much replay value is to be had from trying to rank up individual levels. Also, there's some kind of credits that can be collected, but the purpose of which is not quite clear yet. They only exist as a way to get 3 stars. They look like SIM cards...perhaps the story of the game is secretly that the raccoons are trying to start up a new wireless carrier?

Raccoon Rising doesn't feel like an essential part of the ascension platformer canon; the overall feel of the game and lacking features make it feel like it falls just short of what it needs to be a truly great game in its admittedly crowded genre.