Dokuro

I love Dokuro enough that I've stuck with it even after countless deaths, and I'll continue to stick with it long after this review gets published (because honestly, I'm nowhere close to the end, even though I've already sunk countless hours into it). It's a joy to play, and if you have a Vita, it's a must-own game.

Dokuro is simply one of the best videogames on PS Vita. Perfect for the Sony Portable Console with its style and mechanics.

Part puzzle game, part platform game, and all fun.

Dokuro is the unconventional love story between a schlubby skeleton and a beautiful princess that doesn't know he exists. But that isn't going to keep our hero from helping the troubled maiden escape the harrowing castle. With 150 challenging stages, Dokuro is an epic adventure every PS Vita owner should undertake!

Dokuro is an off-beat and unique puzzle-platformer with a beautiful aesthetic and haunting soundtrack. Its logic-based puzzles may not be for everyone, but the anti-frustration measures built into the game make it an easy recommendation for folks who don't usually like puzzle-platformers due to their difficulty.

I'm nearly 80 puzzles into Dokuro, and I'm still having a blast. In fact, it's been hard to put down.

Dokuro is a wonderful game if you love the platform genre and you're ready to swear at several very difficult puzzles.

Another charming gem for Vita. [Apr 2013, p.86]

Dokuro is a beautiful surprise, full of charm and puzzles. Behind its childish art there's an incredibly hard game, waiting for someone who is willing to take the challenge. If you're ready for a quite difficult platform/puzzle experience, go ahead.

The challenges can get dauntingly tough, but Dokuro's clever design, wry humor, and effusive charm make it irresistible. [Dec 2012, p.84]

There's something about the heart of the game that keeps me pressing forward. Despite the bony exterior, Dokuro feels like it has a real soul, like it was made by people who truly loved and believed in it. It's inspired, well-made, and thoroughly enchanting.

Dokuro's charming aesthetic and accessible gameplay make it an enjoyable distraction that's certainly worth your time. It can get a touch repetitive during prolonged sessions, but that's the only major slight on this otherwise adorable voyage through the underworld.

For gamers anxious for a great puzzler that they can hit the road with, Dokuro is a great choice. Fans of the genre will love the art style, characters, and cleverly designed traps. Casual fans of this particular style of game though may find themselves boxed in by some random spikes in difficulty and some occasional glitches in the touch controls. In the end, those of you looking for a fun and unique experience will certainly be satisfied here.

While it won’t change your life it is full of surprises, and clever too. [April 2013, p78]

Dokuro is a charming platform title featuring a unique aesthetic, challenging levels and strong replay value. Just be prepared to die a lot.

Dokuro is an adventure game that resembles the same playability found in the classics of the 8-16 bit era. A real challenge for real players.

With a little more polish, Dokuro's take on puzzle platforming could be fantastic, but a few problems hold it back from true greatness. From its cheap (though stylish) Flash game appearance, it's clear that GungHo didn't give this project the highest of budgets, which leaves some of the more precise levels feeling incredibly rickety and awkward, with escapes coming thanks to luck rather than strategy. And, at times, the developers bite off a little more than they can chew; Dokuro's floaty jumps and touchy controls aren't exactly made for boss battles or Canabalt-style death runs, but well, there they are. If you're able to overlook these minor problems, though, Dokuro makes for a fine addition to your Vita library -- which, judging by the state of the system, is probably in dire need of something new. It's not a system-seller by any means, but small, digestible, and charming experiences like Dokuro are exactly what Sony's ailing portable needs to survive.

A great art style, rock-hard puzzles and great controls are let down by so-so platforming challenges and combat that feels perfunctory in comparison with the rest of the experience.

With these simple colours and the odd puff of chalk the world of Dokuro is brought to life on the Vita in a breathtaking fashion, the simple art hiding so much potential underneath.

Dokuro is a frustrating, and occasionally fantastic game. It's a shame that there are a number of levels that felt phoned in and the touch controls are so off and on, as the art style and character designs do a great job of drawing you in.

It can be devilishly challenging, but never seems insurmountable. [Apr 2013, p.115]

Certainly charming and different enough to be worth a look, especially given the relative lack of decent Vita titles. But its core structure lacks finesse, and some won't see this fairytale through to its end. [Issue#229, p.83]

Between its unforgiving nature, unbalanced difficulty, and humdrum puzzles, I wouldn't have pressed on through Dokuro if I wasn't reviewing it. Rarely did I feel that fun "a-ha" moment that makes puzzle games exciting; instead I found tedium and frustration. I surely wasn't as devoted to this game as Dokuro was to the princess. Add me to the list of Dokuro's unrequited loves.

Between the rampant frustration, the princess' flat-out stupidity, and the extremely difficult puzzles, there's little to keep you pushing ahead in Dokuro save from the allure of catching the heart of fictional royalty.