Once Upon a Katamari Reviews
Once Upon a Katamari proves its worth as a mainline sequel and differentiates itself from other action-puzzlers with its irresistible game feel.Rolling the katamari and sticking things to its surface with a satisfying pop is a continuous, sensory delight not dissimilar to vacuuming up gems in Vampire Survivors. Refined controls and the introduction of power-ups like the Magnet simply enhance this core experience, making for a deeply satisfying roll-'em-up.
A soaring exercise of how to refresh a franchise, Once Upon a KATAMARI consistently stays neck-and-neck with its history, sometimes surpassing it.
Once Upon a Katamari is exactly what fans hoped for: a surreal, colorful, and delightfully weird return that stays true to its roots while adding just enough freshness. With new challenges, light power-ups, a freer structure, and an unforgettable soundtrack, it entertains without losing its essence. Not a revolution, but a joyful celebration of everything that makes Katamari unique—sometimes, all you need is to roll through chaos with a smile.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Once Upon A Katamari's appropriately ostentatious, energetic return is the best the series has been since the PlayStation 2 era.
Each stage is full of delightfully posed little jokes, characters, and charming anachronisms before you roll them up.
Once Upon a Katamari is a delightful return for the series, offering the same core gameplay fans know and love while also adding even more fun and cleverness.
Bandai Namco really hit a home run with this latest entry in the Katamari Damacy series. It's calming, cozy, and whimsical—in other words, everything you expect from a Katamari game. The time travel theme works well, and the ability to customize your appearance based on your gameplay performance really sells it.
Yet another entirely unnecessary sequel to a classic game that should never have got any follow-ups at all. But if you want even more of the same old thing there are few small sparks of imagination here and there.
Once Upon a Katamari doesn't stray one inch from the series' formula; in fact, it plays practically the same. But it enriches the formula with more challenges, more varied objectives, crazy levels, and four-player competitive multiplayer (including online). And it's all sprinkled with the game's trademark absurdist humor.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Katamari is inherently a chaotic game, despite its adorable, silly visuals and legendarily chill music tracks such as Lonely Rolling Star (the GOAT, in my humble opinion). There’s a lot going on, only so much time to engage with it all, and that’s a big part of the series’ classic appeal. It’s a score-challenging arcade game at heart, with the original game’s scope mostly about trying to make the biggest Katamari within the time limit.
Once Upon a Katamari gets what has made the series such a long-lasting and beloved gaming franchise. The latest Katamari game is simply a joy to experience, as it gives the Prince plenty of wacky objects to roll up and is a worthy sequel. Both newcomers and series veterans will have a blast with Bandai Namco’s latest, as it’s hard to imagine anyone not smiling while playing.
Katamari Damacy is back and it's still the same crazy, fun, and hypnotic game. The first real new chapter in the series after 14 years offers a remarkable amount of content, many customization options, and gameplay that is accessible to everyone but requires quite a bit of practice to master. The camera system, which has always been both a blessing and a curse for the series, has been improved, but especially in the more complex levels, it will require a great deal of patience.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Once Upon a Katamari has an excellent concept, and excellent gameplay. The problem is that there are lots of Katamari games with the same excellent concept and gameplay. The new online modes and customization options are great ideas, but are very shallow in execution. There just isn’t enough evolution in any of the series’ core ideas.
Once Upon A Katamari feels like a confident step back into the series after having a crack at some remasters, and feels like a game that perfectly follows up on what those remasters set out to do. Everything that we all love about Katamari is still here and absolutely kicking. Small reservations with the progression system do precious little to take away from what is - ultimately - one of the most pure and appealing game concepts ever put to players. An absolutely fantastic return to form for a legacy franchise.
Bandai Namco has thus played to the nostalgia factor without taking the risk of modernizing its intellectual property, giving longtime fans another chance to roll their Katamari, but without offering any convincing glimpses into the future of the series.
Review in Italian | Read full review
In 2004, the esoteric, weird and wonderful genius of creator Keita Takahashi brought us Katamari Damacy - a fantastically odd game in which you roll ...
Once Upon a KATAMARI is a Katamari game at its best, rolling, rolling, and rolling through time collecting items and constructing new planets. The 10+ year wait has been worth it, as it introduces just enough novelty all the while preserving the best bits of the series. Its uniqueness aside, it's the most approachable Katamari yet.
Once Upon A Katamari takes the tried and tested formula of the series past and presents it as more of a straightforward game
It sticks hard to the formula established two decades ago, but Once Upon a Katamari's tumble through history has enough new ideas and relentless charm to make it a worthy entry for fans old and new.