Tamarin

Tamarin is a cute monkey with a gun. It's as jarring as it sounds. Not helped by a wayward camera and some awful checkpointing, this isn't quite the Jet Force Gemini spiritual successor it could be. More like Git Force Gemini.

Tamarin had the ingredients to become a remarkable experience, but the final product is a weird and shocking mixture of tones and genres. It has its moments, but terrible camera movements and cumbersome exploration ruin the experience.

On the surface, Tamarin is a cute, beautifully-made action game with the most adorable of protagonists. However, while the game succeeds in its colorful aesthetics and enticing music, it lacks in its depth and storytelling. There is ultimately too much monkeying around and not enough substance. The game gets an A for effort when it comes to creativity, but ultimately the frustration outweighed the enjoyment.

Overall, Tamarin is an admirable attempt to bring back a type of game not widely popular in modern times. However, despite my love of old-school experiences, this sticks too close to its roots in the worst possible ways — this adorable monkey can’t save shoddy, outdated game design.

Tamarin has a quirky and fun concept (a monkey with a gun), but its poor 3D platforming, inability to inform the player properly about objectives and where to go, and dated look with bugs make it a title that few people have any good reason to play, especially when there are much better games of the genre out there right now on PS4.

Swimmy camera combined with lock on shooting is a recipe for disaster for a game in which you quickly lose all interest. The territory you need to investigate is large, but without a corresponding map, this experience is much less enjoyable.

Tamarin may be an adorable game but it's also one that'll make you wonder if it's sponsored by the NRA with its odd use of guns.

Tamarin may look like the ideal nostalgic fix - evoking fond memories of Rare's Jet Force Gemini - but this is not the game you are looking for. Tamarin's external charms hide flawed and deeply dull gameplay. What's most frustrating is the squandered potential of Tamarin, this could have been a game worth playing, but sadly you're best keeping a safe distance from this particular monkey.

Tamarin is boring, repetitive and full of issues. Unfortunately, this team of ex-Rare members have been unable to replicate the glories of their past.

One of the more disappointing games of the year, Tamarin is pretty to look at but dead behind the eyes, offering very little to win over fans of Rare’s golden age.

Then there's the level design. Intended to be somewhat open ended, each environment has dead ends with no reward, and it's never totally clear exactly where you're meant to go. Visually the game is okay but there are some bizarre effects happening that make certain characters and objects look blurry. Overall, it's just not particularly well made; music will drop out occasionally, some collectibles aren't fully explained, the writing isn't good, and it's awkward to control. Add onto all that the strange dual design that has you happily catching fireflies one minute and shooting ants until they explode the next, and we're not sure who this game is for. You may derive some pleasure from its sheer oddness, but that's about it.

While Tamarin is certainly playable, it's hard to recommend it to anyone. Children might find the animals cute, but could be put off by the tonally dissonant violence, and adults looking for a throwback experience have a new Crash Bandicoot game, complete with new characters and experiences, on the horizon. With games such as the remastered Spyro, A Hat in Time, Snake Pass, and, of course, Mario, there are much better options out there - even the original Banjo-Kazooie games will bring more fun and charm than Tamarin, which doesn't seem to have a place to call home in either the past or the present.

Tamarin had one thing going for it: the main character is a very cute monkey. Unfortunately this is literally the only thing which is good in the game. The game lets you walk around with weapons, shooting all kinds of enemies, but there is no real entertainment. The game becomes boring really quickly and doesn't really know where to take you. 40 euros for this game is simply too much.

The graphics look good for a budget title. From far away environments look especially good. But the music is definitely where Tamarin shines brightest. The score was done by Rare veteran composer David Wise and employs everything from military action music, to synthwave, to jungle beats. A lot of tracks are very memorable, and I was always happy when something extra powerful kicked in for combat sections. I really hope Tamarin’s issues are addressed with patches. It’s possible, as the game was constantly pushed back from its original release date. But right now it’s almost unplayable, because of its camera pulling. It’s not possible to recommend Tamarin for anything other than the music at present.