This month’s pick for Game Club saw us tackle a rare Game Freak non-Pokemon title. I can tell a lot of effort went into the core mechanic and the game’s style, but I’m not sure it fulfils all its ambitions.

Let’s start with the strength of the drill. Fundamentally, most problems of the game are solved by “just drill it”, but over the course of the experience this is iterated and layered on, at first in interesting ways but almost to breaking point by the end. You’ve got two different directions to spin the drill, higher gears that are unlocked during each level, and then gimmicks such as swimming and flying controls. Enemies and obstacles build on these drill mechanics in a solid way, but I grew tired of a few things about the game leaning so heavily on the drill: the 3rd gear music that kicks in once in every level, the massive screen overlay whenever you use it, and the necessity to use timing to shift up constantly. On balance it’s still a fun and unique mechanic to build the game around and makes the game memorable.

I can’t quite say the same for the characters; while they’re well animated and cute, they fall into stereotypes. Drill Dozer feels like an adaptation for an anime that never existed which speaks well to the design work put in, but this is a double edged sword as the characters feel stale and the plot tired. The locations and setpieces pulled me through though.

I have other minor issues, like the underdeveloped shop and equipment features, or the unbalanced economy, but let’s just say that it’s a fun platformer with a few puzzles, a bit of action, and a cool little girl who drills everything in her way. I’d like to see Game Freak stretch out of their mold like this more often.