A love letter to Banjo-Kazooie will get my attention, even if it’s written a little clumsily.

This is the first effort by Diplodocus Games, a small team driven by Sebastian Küpper with some collaborators. It’s an intentional throwback to 3D platforming classics of the Nintendo 64, particularly the first Banjo game (although much of its platforming challenges called to mind the more abstract sections of Super Mario 64).

The dynamic is familiar, with an overly snarky red bird (Regina) bossing around her pal Mac, the mute tyrannosaurus (apparently), collecting 100 diddlybops, 5 whatsits and 10 thingies per world, and getting new moves (this time from a koala). Worlds are nicely varied from swamp to desert to castle to cyberscape.

Of course, the theming is a little thin, as many textures are a bit flat and I think all the geometry in the game is made from simple rectangular prisms. The mechanics are also very stripped back compared to Banjo; there are no NPCs, no combat with enemies or bosses, no other items and limited interaction with the world.

Instead the game is propped up by its platforming, which gets increasingly challenging as you go. Several of my play sessions ended with swearing and tension, but after a break I would always come back and crack it. I employed the “Easy Mode” during the final world; it made a small difference by giving extra checkpoints and health, but the jumps and movement remained highly demanding. Mac’s movement is uncomplicated, with little sense of momentum; until you get the run button, which feels good to scoot around the large empty spaces in most worlds (unlike Banjo-Tooie’s slow pace). I just wish the jumping was more floaty, or you had a double jump, to alleviate the frustration.

There are puzzles too, including block-pushing, tile-filling, a maze, etc. And the spatial awareness and memorising layouts, on top of world-specific gimmicks like the gravity-flipping outer space world. In fact thinking back there’s a good variety of things you do in the game, even if the underlying systems are basic. Also, unlocking each world is done via puzzle a la Banjo, although in this case you’re solving a nonogram/picross puzzle. Sure, it’s not a great picross engine, but it still made me happy.

You could turn your nose up at the amateurish design or the blocky, basic graphics, but I found this homage very charming a lot of the time. I’m proud to have beaten it 100% (especially because there’s no online guides or Let’s Plays). Navigating these 3D worlds did take me back, the script was amusing, and some tunes were pleasantly evocative of Kirkhope, Novakovic, and Wise (others were a bit repetitive, oh well). Most of all I could see the love put into this project, the desire to pay tribute and express their ideas of what you can do in this genre even with a simple foundation. In that sense it’s a great success.

I chose to get this on Wii U (rather than Switch or PC via Itch), if only for the novelty of buying a game that was newly released in 2020 on a now dead console. I had some regrets with this, as the game only ever displays on the Gamepad; no TV at all. This “feature” isn’t advertised, so I was caught off guard… in fact it feels like a bug that hasn’t been fixed. Well, at least the Gamepad is a lot more comfortable than a handheld Switch with Joycons (also, no joystick drift). Plus, there’s a nifty digital manual. So, buyer beware and all that.