Corn Kidz 64 Review - Screenshot 1 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Though the peak years of the 3D platformer genre were in the late '90s and early 2000s, there’s been a bit of a resurgence in interesting new genre entries in recent years. Titles such as Glyph and Lunistice have shown that smaller platforming projects can be just as compelling as the more well-known examples, and now we have BogoSoft's Corn Kidz 64 continuing that trend with something decidedly retro. Following the adventures of a spunky goat named Seve, this title aims to emulate the spirit of an N64 platformer as accurately as possible. It largely succeeds; Corn Kidz 64 actually feels like a lost game from this era, and even though it has some notable shortcomings, this is overall an enjoyable and fun retro romp.

Corn Kidz 64 is a true collectathon at heart, tasking you with picking up various doodads squirreled away in every imaginable corner of these modestly-sized playgrounds. Your main collectible is a large collection of cubes that grant you “XP” for each one you grab—after getting enough of them, you’ll be able to unlock doors that gate access to harder challenges that hide even more cubes. Additionally, there are other things to do, like knocking over all the trash cans in a level or finding a small collection of bottle caps to exchange for corn syrup, which raises your max health.

Corn Kidz 64 Review - Screenshot 2 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Though you’re ultimately funneled down a relatively linear route, you’re given a lot of leeway in each area over what to focus on. Much like in Banjo-Kazooie or Donkey Kong 64, there are things to snatch up all over the place, so it’s really a matter of just seeing something interesting and climbing or running over to figure out what's hidden around it. This approach feels natural and we appreciate that it allows you to decide what you want to challenge yourself with—if navigating those jumps is too frustrating, just wander off somewhere else and come back to try again later.

Seve’s moveset isn’t nearly as versatile as Mario’s, but he manages to get a lot of mileage out of a homing strike and ground-pound move. The homing strike can be used to loosen screws or to snag bomb birds to toss at vulnerable walls. There are plenty of gimmicks littered throughout the environment to help augment his abilities, too, such as a line of floating rings that let you use your homing strike multiple times without touching the ground, or certain types of walls that can be wall-jumped infinitely.

With the way everything’s organized, Corn Kidz 64 feels well-paced, never wasting any space or needlessly padding out the experience as some platformers are notoriously guilty of. Every level is packed with stuff to do without feeling tedious, and there are regularly new gimmicks and challenges presented to keep things feeling fresh. A complete run should only take you about eight to ten hours, but Corn Kidz 64 makes the most of every minute.

Corn Kidz 64 Review - Screenshot 3 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

For its presentation, Corn Kidz 64 looks like it’s straight out of 1997, even going as far as giving you the boxy 4:3 aspect ratio and fuzzy scanlines. You can go into the settings to tune these display options to resemble something more modern, but we preferred the lo-fi approach and felt that it fit quite well with the art direction. The art style itself features all the blocky models and blurry textures you’d expect out of an N64 platformer, but we appreciated the darker, almost menacing, vibe to the visuals. Something about these worlds is just off in a delightfully creepy and whimsical kind of way, which creates an interesting atmosphere as you explore deeper.

The soundtrack similarly has that old-school MIDI feel, with a short collection of cartoonish tracks that also do a good job of feeding into that ominous atmosphere. It’s not a particularly memorable collection of tracks, but it fits the aesthetic perfectly and helps add that extra layer to the retro immersion.

There were a few notable issues we ran into that dampened the experience, however. For one thing, there’s some pretty noticeable input lag in this Switch version, which lends the gameplay a sluggish and unresponsive feeling. You adjust to the lag a bit with practice, and the challenge of the level design is overall kept relatively low, but we experienced plenty of times where more precision was required and the controls just weren’t up to the task, leading to some frustrating missed jumps and wasted efforts.

Corn Kidz 64 Review - Screenshot 4 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Additionally, the camera is another issue, making Corn Kidz 64 perhaps a little too reminiscent of the retro games it clearly channels. There are many times where camera control is limited or fixed, and the perspective often fails to give you a comfortable view of the platforming challenge. Even when you do have more control over placement, there’s an unwieldy clunkiness that makes it feel like you’re fighting to get it in the right spot. You could say the poor camera is almost charming considering how it’s right on-brand for the era, but all the same, we would’ve liked to see this aspect improved.

Conclusion

Corn Kidz 64 feels like a genuine title from the N64 era and we commend the developer for their ability to successfully recreate that retro experience. A perfect length, good pacing, and varied design all work in this game’s favor, though its sluggish controls and awkward camera hold it back from greatness. All the same, it’s only seven bucks—we’d give this one a recommendation to anyone looking for a decent new 3D platformer for their library.