If the title wasn’t already a dead giveaway, Superola And The Lost Burgers is one big parody. It draws inspiration from dated internet memes, pop culture and even makes reference to classic video games in order to tell the story of a llama on a quest to recover hamburgers stolen by an alien hotdog race. Even if you find this type of content entertaining, it’s the low production values – across all facets – and completely uninspired gameplay on offer that makes this arguably the worst release on the Switch eShop to date.
If you’re still curious at this point, to reiterate – this game is nothing but a glorified endless runner. Undercoders – the independent Barcelona-based studio behind this problematic release – describe Superola as a game packed with an, “original storyline,” and, “frenetic platforming action,” taking place over more than 70 stages. Content is bolstered with supposedly, “memorable,” boss fights and rhythm controlled bonus rounds. Collectively, this is all just marketing spiel. The stark reality is this is an expansion of rubbish runners such as Meme Run and Zombie Brigade on the Wii U eShop. The notable references included simply fill the void that is the lack of truly original content in the game.
There’s very little on offer to keep you invested. In each stage, the star llama must make it to the end. Typically, you’ll be required to jump from platform to platform, while vaulting over barriers and shooting incoming enemies with your meme beam, all while your character automatically runs. Stages include underwater levels – requiring you to keep the llama afloat – and other times you’ll be flying through the sky on a cloud. Regardless of the surrounding environment, the goal remains the same – get to the end of a level without making contact with any enemies or touching the boundaries above or below.
To assist you during this seemingly impossible and incredibly monotonous task are power-ups. These include items such as wings – enabling the llama to double-jump – and burgers, enabling you to fire the laser beam more regularly. Conserving your laser and waiting to use it in a level at the right point is about the only strategy required. If you are seriously struggling to complete a level due to the placement and sheer amount of enemies, you can purchase items at a shop. In between levels there are also bonus rounds which make reference to likes of Street Fighter. Here you control the llama with timed button presses as it hits an old appliance or car. An early boss fight as well refers to a modified version of Rock, Paper, Scissors – again though, none of this content hides the lack of effort on the developer’s behalf.
In general, the amount of references packed into this title is unsurprisingly overdone. Expect to see doge – the famous internet Shiba Inu – making notable Zelda quotes and the next minute you’re presented with an end of level screen making a mockery of Sonic The Hedgehog. As exciting as it may be for some players to spot these references, it doesn’t conceal the poor design and execution.
The sound and visuals make no effort to recover the situation. The chip tune sound track is repetitive – with songs set to loop – and visually-speaking, the effort is absolutely minimal. For most parts, the art assets look like graphics crafted in MS Paint in less than a few minutes. There are also many basic shapes that look straight out of a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation which have been used to create knock-off Super Mario warp pipes. The controls and performance do little to salvage the game. And to top it off, there’s a two-player mode – the hilarity is likely to last a minute or two before your partner or friend re-evaluates their relations with you.
Conclusion
Like Meme Run and Zombie Brigade, Superola And The Lost Burgers is an embarrassment to modern gaming. It’s crudely put together, with no originality behind the content – intentional or not – and the apparent 'platforming action' on offer is an insult to the much-loved genre. Even as an endless runner, this low level of quality is far from acceptable. The additional content included only heightens just how bad this entire package actually is. In truthfulness, it’s just a bunch of overdone memes and references mixed together that would fit right at home on a popular message board. Avoid this one at all costs.
Comments 51
A 1 ?
Wow, never saw a 1 “Abysmal” before!
@roro26 @bluedogrulez : There are quite a few "abysmal" gems on Wii U (after Nintendo opened the floodgates to even the indiest of Indies).
Is this the first Switch game to get a 1?
Now for the obligatory:
What was Nintendo on when they approved this?
Have they even learnt anything from the meme run fiasco?
Edit: Forgot the obligatory "I'm sorry you had to review this!"
I get Nintendo love to support independent developers, but this should have been left indie rubbish!
@JHDK - It appears so... even "Vroom in the Night Sky" and "Tennis" got a higher score!
I'm wondering how they found someone with artistic talent willing to produce that promo art for the game, but then fail to find anyone with any talent at all to make all the in-game assets
Totally expected this to get a 1. Looked like absolute trash from the trailer. Sucks the Switch eShop is getting such crap.
RIP Vroom in the Night Sky
Llamas deserve better.
Alex: Don't give Zombie Brigade a 1, if you have to review it, give it a 2. If you have to complete your WiiU game collection, do it without this game.
Looks like Liam Doolan didn't take Alex's advice when writing this review.
This is the part where I expect someone to put in a picture of the Official Nintendo Seal of Quality.
Am surprised Nintendo would let this trash hit the eShop when it's already flooded with games.
Maybe I'm just getting old but I don't understand why anyone would want to play a meme game.
Or why anyone would want to make one for that matter.
Didn't expect anything from this. Looks like I got what I expected.
@StormtheFrontier I don't think it's age. I'm a teenager and I agree with you.
Please don’t tell me this is switch exclusive as well...... I think it is. What a coup
RCMADIAX you have a new rival in Undergames.
Also it could be worse, we could have gotten metal gear survive.....
I had a feeling....
I wonder who the developer bribed for this to be approved?My money's on whoever was in charge of the Wii/Wii U Eshop. The Switch "good game average" was making them look bad.
And these guys made Conga Master Party! What went wrong?
I thought Nintendo had quality control on all eShop games? Someone must of been hungover to let this one through
Will wait for a physical retail release.
So again, can we now finally pass a law that only Jeff Minter is allowed to create games with Llama's in them?
@Hikingguy
That depends on which seal you are talking about.
@SimonMKWii Thanks mate! At least I've got the free Super Mario Odyssey update to enjoy.
Also, looking at that second picture, someone try and contact TAD Corporation, we might even get this game delisted for ripping off Toki. lol
“NL only give 7s”
@Raylax : I think the promo art is far uglier than the in-game graphics.
@Daftbomb In fairness 1 and 7 do look quite alike!
C'mon guys why y'all hating on the poor llama? We already gave the goat a chance, why not the llama as well?
wow I was kinda hoping this was good.
@wazlon
that seal of 'quality' meant nothing.
there was TONS of trash with that thing on there.
it would be nice if these online stores were curated better. no one does a good job of it with Steam and the phone stores being the worst of the worst.
This should not surprise anyone, game looked like trash.
Well, at least the title has a little imagination.
@retro_player_22 But GOAT means "Greatest of all Time". What does LLAMA stand for? "Lame looking asinine manky Application"?
That’s a shame I like the references of other games in the screenshots but for it to get a 1 it must be awful
This is day 1 for me.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE well played, sir, really well played 😂😂😂
Praise is most certainly due 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Looks much better than anything RCMADIAX has ever done, in terms of content, gameplay, sound, design, and even graphics.
It's so bad.... I kinda want it
To me there are 2 ratings that make me interested in a game.
A 9-10/10 rating,
or a 1/10 rating
It would be almost insulting that a game like this was released in 2006, on Newgrounds. Made in Flash.
That it is being released now, in the Nintendo Switch, is a disgrace.
I wanted eShop to look more like Steam, but I meant more user friendly interface, not awful meme games and no quality control!
At least there's no card trading market. Yet.
it's nice to have a review that reflects all modern gaming. i mean let's face it: i have the nintendo switch for all the retro NeoGeo titles (and i'm really loving them) but other than that the whole Switch as a console scores 1 out of 10. And that doesn't only include the switch, but also xbox one and playstation4! From the moment that video games walk away from trying to replicate the fun atmosphere of the arcades, they just became the worst thing that happened to this planet since taxes were first invented.
@Raylax Hahahahaha, a keen observation!
@NintendoFan4Lyf garbage of the year
To be fair, the graphics, while simple, are still much better than the undetailed 8-bit inspired retro wannabes that are floating around. Also, it seems like the memes are minimal, while the whole reference/parody schtick would be great if it had decent gameplay (and as a normal platformer instead of an endless runner) like with "Retro City Rampage" or "Unepic."
Anyway, scoring it a 1 may be kind of harsh, although then again you didn't actually go into detail about the quality of the gameplay, so it could still deserve that score if it plays absolutely horribly.
EDIT: I looked at some videos online, and the gameplay appears to be perfectly fine, so I have no idea how it deserves a 1. It's actually a pretty decent game if you enjoy endless runners, and the parody comedy is what makes it stand out in the genre. Besides, any game that includes a "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock" minigame can't be all bad.
Lol, after seeing all those 9's and 10's on this site finally a worthy score again. That was a looooooong time ago!
@BulbasaurusRex
What? It looks like it was animated by a kid, dude...
Also, you just complained about the 8-bit style many Indies use then proceeded to praise Retro City Rampage, which used an 8-bit style.
Are you a member of the dev team or something?
@TsC_Xanatos The animation is just fine from the videos I've seen. Now it may look like it's drawn by a kid, but he/she would be a kid who's a pretty good artist. The style is basic and cheap, sure, but still pretty cute. Do people complain when the graphics are designed to actually look like a kid's drawing like with "Defend Your Castle"?
I praised "Retro City Rampage" as an good parody game with good gameplay. The graphics are one thing I don't like about it.
My brother just bought this game today........... it's ridiculous!
Year in Review brought me here xD
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