Kine Review

Kine is a music themed 3D puzzle game in which animated instruments work together to become professionals in the music industry. The theming, colours and story line are especially inviting to anyone who appreciates music or puzzle games and it is easy to get to grips with the controls. There’s no shortage of levels, with new stories and side quests unlocking regularly which reduces the chances of getting stuck or frustrated and increasing the overall sense of achievement.

The game begins with some basic levels to help the player get to grips with the controls and the distinctive movements of each instrument before the story evolves and all 3 characters begin to work together to complete their quest. There are also some side stories in which the instruments work in pairs and even a few where they are stuck together, creating some particularly mind bending predicaments towards the end of the game. This is, however, a welcomed development because it stops the game becoming too predictable.

The animation is simple but vibrant and appealing, with captions to narrate the story, similar to the style of a comic. This works particularly well, especially as the narrative from the individual characters contrasts in colour, and the story often is emphasised in bold to differentiate between the captions easily. The characters also have their own individual sounds every time they move which relate directly to the instruments that they represent, but this was sometimes distracting as the sounds were not in tune or in time with the background music. The connection between the instruments working towards their dream jobs and the individual level theming was clever but it was difficult to imagine that these little yellow boxes representing instruments which roll awkwardly about making silly noises were in fact capable of achieving these dreams. Perhaps with the addition of some short animations showing their performances in between levels or even at the end of the game it would have helped it to feel less disjointed. However, compared to other puzzle games, the story is very well integrated and plays a much more significant role in the overall enjoyment of the game.

There are numerous stories to play through each with their own set of increasingly challenging levels and thoughtful narrative depicting some of the very genuine struggles that real musicians face. This theme is cunningly comparable to the determination and willpower that is necessary to learn or develop any skill or hobby in life. In fact, the commentary from the characters about their doubts at the early stages in their careers very much reflects the feelings that players may share at a similar stage in the game. The instruments support and inspire each not to give up and in turn, this motivates the player to keep trying which is certainly an innovative idea.

There is no pressure to complete each level within a particular time limit and with the options to undo or repeat a move (or even to restart the level with no penalty), it eliminates the stress that could otherwise lead to players losing their enthusiasm and quitting early on. Most of the puzzles are relatively short, but the various combination of different instrument positions can sometimes feel infinite if an unknowingly incorrect move has occurred early on. It is just stimulating enough to make it fun but not impossible with the option to go back a few moves, so this should extend its appeal to an audience who would usually give up on a puzzle game. This cleverly balanced playing experience would definitely not flow so effortlessly if there was a penalty for becoming stuck, with the inclusion of a time limit or without the ability go back to change previous actions.

The only thing that let this game down was the lack of variation in the music. It began promisingly, developed as the story unfolded and certainly created a positive atmosphere with its jazzy improvisational style but after that, it just didn’t go anywhere. As a comparison, if a song on the radio has 4 identical chords repeated over and over it becomes catchy and appealing to the majority, but with the same 4 chords repeated throughout an entire game, it is enough to drive people completely insane. For a music themed game this was a tremendous disappointment and it meant that suddenly, the most important button was no longer on the controller but it was the mute button for the TV. No offense meant to the composer as the instrumentation and style of music was very in keeping with the theme, but the game would have definitely benefitted from a wider variety of different tracks or further development of the main musical theme when taking into consideration the number of levels that this music was to be repeated during.

Conclusion

Compared to similar games within this genre, Kine has far more levels and side quests to play so it is not really a disadvantage that it somewhat lacks the incentive to replay. For a puzzle game it is excellent but the music unfortunately detracts from the theme rather than enhancing it. It isn’t too challenging and the characters and story line are carefully integrated into each level which motivates the player to continue through to the end and makes it more enjoyable to play.

This game was tested and reviewed on Xbox One. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by the publisher.