Monkey King: Hero Is Back
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Critic Reviews for Monkey King: Hero Is Back
Video games have come a long way in the past decade, but Monkey King: Hero Is Back didn't get the memo.
A very charming adventure reminiscent of the first PlayStation platformers... In both the good and the bad things. Monkey King: Hero Is Back captures the essence of the film it is based on, and although it is not revolutionary, it manages to be fun until the very end.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Honestly, I don't regret the time I spent with Monkey King: Hero is Back. Is it a great game? No, not really. I'd struggle to even call it good at times. However, it's a bizarre and sort of charming throwback title that seems to have been made in a completely different era. In a way, I found myself nostalgic for it even when I wasn't totally enjoying the experience. If you're looking for that kind of game, then you may actually find something worth checking out here. Just keep your expectations in check.
Learn how to help children not get eaten by monsters in this PS2-esque Chinese tale.
By keeping simplicity at its core, Monkey King: Hero Is Back offers an entertaining if somewhat mindless distraction to the blockbuster titles releasing around it. Sure, it's a little bit too short, the narrative isn't particularly gripping, and it looks like an early PS3 game, but that all falls by the wayside in the heat of battle. Thanks to fun brawling mechanics, Monkey King: Hero Is Back does just enough to deserve your attention.
I enjoyed a fair amount of what this game had to offer, but the limited, claustrophobic nature of much of the navigation, coupled with slow movement, poor story, and extremely limited enemy types, make it a harder sell.
These are one of those times when games are simply made to capitalize on the license of an intellectual property. Though there is a lot of potential in the story for the gameplay and mechanics to flesh out, it never does. There are moments when you believe there's something special to experience, but then you're constantly loading into areas, slowed to a snail's pace, and burdened with unnecessary banter.
As a whole, Monkey King: Hero Is Back has some nice features, although the overall game ruined by some very bad gameplay design. Not to mention the combat is shoddy and not even enjoyable. Sure the game looks pretty, but the repetitive and mundane gameplay ruins the experience.
