Tamarin

 PC
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 14
  3. Negative: 4 out of 14

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  1. Mokas
    Sep 13, 2020
    10
    I got this game to play and relax at the end of the day. It's a fun game! The sound track is great, being chilled and upbeat at the same time, keeps you going through the game while relaxing. Tamarin is challenging enough for one not to feel frustrated. I felt like I was taking a stroll in the forest while smashing those little buggers... ants... It's a real pleasure to watch them splashI got this game to play and relax at the end of the day. It's a fun game! The sound track is great, being chilled and upbeat at the same time, keeps you going through the game while relaxing. Tamarin is challenging enough for one not to feel frustrated. I felt like I was taking a stroll in the forest while smashing those little buggers... ants... It's a real pleasure to watch them splash as I aim towards them. I liked the fact that you can fine tune your aim. So you can hide and shoot without being hit.
    Over all I had a great time playing this
    and recommend it to everyone    … Expand
  2. syb190
    Sep 14, 2020
    8
    The game is cute, simple and adventurous. I love the nature, the music is relaxing and all the caves and hidden spots make it fun to explore!
  3. Nello147
    Sep 14, 2020
    10
    This game is like good wine. The longer you play - the better it gets. Once you get into the controls, exploration and shooting are fun and satisfying. The difficulty is not too easy and you need to look for different collectables to continue instead of rushing through the game. The more doors you unlock, the faster you can travel with shortcuts and without loading screens. Though, a roughThis game is like good wine. The longer you play - the better it gets. Once you get into the controls, exploration and shooting are fun and satisfying. The difficulty is not too easy and you need to look for different collectables to continue instead of rushing through the game. The more doors you unlock, the faster you can travel with shortcuts and without loading screens. Though, a rough map would have been nice. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this world, which is a very good mix of nature and industrial buildings. The varied mood, combined with the superb soundtrack, makes it a joyful experience.… Expand
  4. CheeseMaster14
    Sep 15, 2020
    8
    All in all a nice little indie game with a lot of polish when it comes to the mechanics. Almost no loading times in-game, and that's without SSDs or other next-gen shenanigans. World building and music is spot on and it's just fun to hop around and explore, main character is cute as can be. Only downside is a few missing options, and a bit clunky aiming in the shooting segments that needsAll in all a nice little indie game with a lot of polish when it comes to the mechanics. Almost no loading times in-game, and that's without SSDs or other next-gen shenanigans. World building and music is spot on and it's just fun to hop around and explore, main character is cute as can be. Only downside is a few missing options, and a bit clunky aiming in the shooting segments that needs some getting used to. Nevertheless, the good outweighs the bad by far, I thoroughly enjoyed this game, and can recommend it to any fans of classic-styled games!… Expand
  5. jumpmanexe
    Sep 12, 2020
    9
    Tamarin is small and cute, it has a very particular charm to it. Even though the environments look nice and relaxing the game won't let you walk away without a bit of a challenge.
    The game is an interconnected world split into jet force gemini and banjo kazzioe styles of gameplay. The music is great, and the game fun to play, overall well worth your time, give it a shot if you are in the    Tamarin is small and cute, it has a very particular charm to it. Even though the environments look nice and relaxing the game won't let you walk away without a bit of a challenge.
    The game is an interconnected world split into jet force gemini and banjo kazzioe styles of gameplay. The music is great, and the game fun to play, overall well worth your time, give it a shot if you are in the mood for a classic 3d platformer/shooter from the n64 rare days    … Expand
  6. GandalfCzarny
    Sep 12, 2020
    3
    One big mess. Right - it's cute and beutiful, but the gameplay is just down right broken. Shooting mechanic drives crazy, camera is your biggest enemy, platforming is annoying, and all this gorefest in such cutesy and innocent setup is just... uncomfortable. Just remind you - this was made 6 years, by people who work in Rare! And this is what we get? Just stay away from this travesty andOne big mess. Right - it's cute and beutiful, but the gameplay is just down right broken. Shooting mechanic drives crazy, camera is your biggest enemy, platforming is annoying, and all this gorefest in such cutesy and innocent setup is just... uncomfortable. Just remind you - this was made 6 years, by people who work in Rare! And this is what we get? Just stay away from this travesty and wait for Crash 4, new Ratchet and Clank or Kao the Kangaroo. Or just go back to A Hat in Time.… Expand
  7. derekbum
    Sep 14, 2020
    3
    I was really looking forward to Tamarin, to the point where I pre-ordered the deluxe soundtrack version. I also never bother writing reviews, but this time I feel the need to make an exception. Initially Tamarin looks quite polished, and in some ways it is, but once you start playing, you begin to wonder how exactly this game took 7 years to make.

    Controls: The controls aren't too bad    I was really looking forward to Tamarin, to the point where I pre-ordered the deluxe soundtrack version. I also never bother writing reviews, but this time I feel the need to make an exception. Initially Tamarin looks quite polished, and in some ways it is, but once you start playing, you begin to wonder how exactly this game took 7 years to make.

    Controls:
    The controls aren't too bad when you're platforming, but as soon as the game switches to the shooting mode, I wanted to scream at the game. The way the aiming mechanisim works is so counter-intuitive, especially when trying to shoot the smaller space invader-type enemies. For some reason the developers completely overlooked the need for mouse/keyboard controls, AND the concept of controller rebinding.

    Graphics:
    The graphics are generally quite nice, and they are one of the first things that attracted me to the game. The main character Tamarin is cute as hell, and he's probably the best thing to come out of this game. Even though things look pretty good, the visuals get a bit samey considering there's all of 3 locations in Tamarin; grassy outside areas, underground tunnels and industrial warehouses (oh and a mountain, but that's basically more grass an elevated rocks). Although the graphics look okay, there are things that feel like they're not very polished. Enemies flash a weird green colour when you shoot them, the electricity effects are... not great looking, and like the lack of variety in environments, the enemy visual variety is thin on the ground, with what felt like 3 or 4 different enemy types.

    Gameplay:
    This is where Tamarin really fell short. It's just not very fun to play. It honestly feels like the developers didn't bother getting anyone outside their own circles to play test the game. Platforming can be frustrating, trying to collect birds before they get shot by ants (or worse, are too close to a mine so you can't get near them OR destroy the mine first) and getting completely lost due to everywhere looking the same means it doesn't take long before you're questioning why you're continuing to play the game.

    Sound:
    The soundtrack is by David Wise, so it's pretty good, but it's honestly far from his best work. The sound effects are really weird. Whenever an enemy dies, it sounds like a pig squealing, everything else is pretty run of the mill.

    Overall, I think my main issue with Tamarin is how I feel... betrayed? Promised a cutesy platform/shooter adventure from ex-Rare devs, but when you actually look into who worked on the game, the only one's who were ex-Rare were a couple of the artists, the sound effects guy and David Wise for music. None of the ex-Rare devs actually worked on the core game itself, i.e the gamplay, which is how it sounds when you're told ex-Rare devs are working on a game.

    This game was in development for 7 years, but I don't think it actually took that long to develop. I believe most of those years were from the game being stuck in development hell. I've seen smaller teams (or single devs) make better games in that time, Clive 'N Wrench for example, or a Hat in Time. I doubt Chameleon Games will come clean with what actually happened during Tamarins development, but I do know the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth.

    Pretty sure all these positive user reviews are being left by the CEO himself, because none of them make any sense. There's no way this game is an 8 or above, at best it might be a 6, but even that feels generous.    … Expand
  8. Usabell
    Sep 14, 2020
    9
    This game has a great atmosphere, runs smoothly and is lots of fun to play. Its world is interconnected, akin to Metroidvania games, but it offers two distinct playstyles that are often swapped between for more variety of gameplay, which is a refreshing approach not seen very often.

    I honestly didn't expect much after lots of indie 3D platformers tried and somehow failed to get the    This game has a great atmosphere, runs smoothly and is lots of fun to play. Its world is interconnected, akin to Metroidvania games, but it offers two distinct playstyles that are often swapped between for more variety of gameplay, which is a refreshing approach not seen very often.

    I honestly didn't expect much after lots of indie 3D platformers tried and somehow failed to get the feeling "right". I still wanted to try this out because I liked the trailers and I found the main character to be very likable.

    The whole presentation is very polished, especially for a small indie studio. Graphics are clean, sharp and nice with very nice lighting. You can almost smell the plants and earth, and feel the wet air in the shadow-covered parts. Very nice! Characters also look very nice, the main character has a nice glossy fur, similar to the main cast in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

    Music is really nice and atmospheric too, and lends a deep and whimsical atmosphere while exploring the beautifully designed interconnected world. The sound effects are also very fitting and nicely balanced. Nothing to complain here.

    Controls take some time getting used to, but in general are responsive and smooth, especially in the platformer sections. I really love all the moves the Tamarin can do in those, and it feels very precise and fun. Camera feels very smooth too, with a kind of "cinematic" recenter after a player movement. The shooter sections have a few problems like no stick sensitivity or inverted axis options, but as I said, once you get used to it, it's not half bad either. A few more options would be nice though.

    Difficulty throughout the game is average to hard, but the perceived difficulty gets less once you mastered the controls. After beating the first shooter stage, I was already quite used to how things work in this game. The later parts get a bit more difficult, but nothing too overwhelming for players who already played during the 90s, and I think this game is clearly aimed at this target audience.

    The game length is "just right", I'd say. Not too short but also doesn't overstay its welcome. It's something you can pick up and play for an hour or two, and it will last you maybe a week to finish the main story. If you want to collect everything, it can take much longer, depending on your skill level. There are some really hard challenges in there for the pros. I still didn't get them all yet, but will try to do so later.

    Overall, I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes this playstyle or early 3D platformer games like Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie or Donkey Kong 64. It's been a blast to play this game, and I'll make sure to get the platinum trophy on it. I can see myself playing this again like once a year, because it already feels like a new classic. So far one of the better indie 3D platformers available. I hope we'll see more from his team in the future!    … Expand
  9. thumb_culture
    Oct 12, 2020
    6
    A love-letter to the 3D platformers of yesteryear, Tamarin does some things particularly well, but as a whole, the game feels a bit flavourless. When I first saw trailers for it coming out I was excited, as it looked like it was the spiritual successor to Jet Force Gemini, a game I loved on the Nintendo 64. But once I got my hands on it, I was a little bit let down. The characters wereA love-letter to the 3D platformers of yesteryear, Tamarin does some things particularly well, but as a whole, the game feels a bit flavourless. When I first saw trailers for it coming out I was excited, as it looked like it was the spiritual successor to Jet Force Gemini, a game I loved on the Nintendo 64. But once I got my hands on it, I was a little bit let down. The characters were cute as hell, but it felt like the game was a little taped together and disjointed. While Tamarin had good visuals and a good soundtrack, it felt lacking in other areas. Unfortunately, I encountered some issues when trying to play the game with keyboard and mouse, and felt almost forced to use a gamepad.… Expand
  10. Janni-avz
    Dec 4, 2020
    10
    Tamarin is a cute monkey game in combination with a shooter game.

    The graphics look great.
    The first game from Chameleon Games.

    My favourite game!

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
35

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 6 out of 6
  1. Worth Playing
    Feb 2, 2021
    35
    To put it bluntly, Tamarin is messy. The story isn't that interesting, and the characters try to make it sound important but come off as pompous. The platforming is decent once you learn that you have useful moves, but the finicky nature of some elements and the slippery physics mean that asking for precision is inviting frustration. While the thought of resurrecting a Jet Force Gemini-style game is intriguing, the execution fumbles greatly due to it casting aside the advances that have been made in third-person shooters in the last 20 years. Unless you're craving an exercise in frustration, steer clear of Tamarin.
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  2. CD-Action
    Dec 18, 2020
    20
    Tamarin reeks of low budget and complete lack of creativity. How is it even possible that people who once worked at Rare (where they made Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country, among others) developed such a sad, awful mess? [12/2020, p.73]
  3. SpazioGames
    Nov 3, 2020
    45
    Tamarin tries to recall the old rare classics, but fails to propose a valid platform that looks and plays like a game form the mid '90s.
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