Kersploosh! 3DS eShop Review

Item Reviewed

Author

Stone Goes Down the Hole –

Using gravity as the main gameplay mechanic, Kersploosh! is a one trick pony that will keep you mildly entertained for about thirty minutes.

The premise is simple – guide a falling object with the Circle Pad to the bottom of a well in the shortest amount of time as possible. Each controllable object has different strengths and speeds, similar to using different types of vehicles in any racing game. In other words, splash or crash. Along the way, the player must avoid obstacles like planks of wood, fans, and even food. No one knows why there is food in the middle of a well but gives gameplay a much needed boost of creativity. It is also a little strange that this title does not use touch screen controls and seems like a missed opportunity.

Pizza in a well. Sure, why not?

Besides trying to avoid certain obstacles, falling through the center of a donut will result in a boost of speed and falling through balloons will restore lost health. Unfortunately, each of the 10 stages features cheap and unfair tactics that frustrate instead of providing a worthy challenge. Like the decoy “?” block in Mario Kart 64, there are platforms that look they can be passed through but are blocked and the player cannot tell the difference until it is too late; this is especially true after hitting a boosting donut. Even the stereoscopic 3D effect doesn’t really help with the overall sense of depth and often times the controllable stone actually obstructs the view of what is coming next.

Shove that watermelon into that donut

While it is hard to knock the presentation for a game that only costs a few bucks, it is still annoying to revert back to the main menu after each race and have to suffer through the same pointless dialog before each start. There is some saving grace in the form of unlockable stages and controllable objects but the lack of online leaderboards can make the track memorization and twitch reflex dedication moot. Swapping fastest time via StreetPass is nice but still can’t replace instant online leaderboards, but again, this game only costs a few bucks and was developed by a very small team.

The touchscreen doesn’t really do anything

Playing through all ten stages should not even take an hour but there is replay value in trying to earn faster times. Kersploosh! will not blow anyone away but stands as another quirky and unexpected Nintendo title.

If you act fast, Kersploosh! can be downloaded for free via the Club Nintendo program.