Buddy And Me: Dream Edition Wii U Review

Buddy And Me: Dream Edition Wii U

Release: July 21, 2016
Publisher: Sunbreak Games
Developer: Sunbreak Games
Genre: Adventure, Family, Indie, Platformer, WiiU Categories
PEGI: E
Comments:

 

Comment

Endless runners are a genre that I have mixed feelings about. Some endless runners, like Wind-Up Knight 2 are good, while others are not so great. Buddy and Me: Dream Edition is a new endless runner that came to the Wii U today. Is it a good game, an ok game, or a bad one?

Buddy and Me: Dream Edition doesn’t have a story and I‘m very disappointed by that. I think the game has a great look to it (see graphics) and a story would’ve been pretty cool and added so much to this game. Instead, Buddy and Me is an endless runner most of time and doesn’t feature much variety in gameplay. There’s only one real level with this game and while it changes a little bit every time you play it, one level just isn’t enough. Plus, the game doesn’t feature any enemies or real challenge other then jumping. The game feels very repetitive and dull. I know the game is probably targeting younger children, but I think they’d get tired of this game fast. Buddy & Me isn’t a totally bad game though. Its controls work very well.

Since Buddy and Me is an endless runner most of the time, you won’t need the D-Pad or analog stick much. You’ll only need it really when Buddy comes in to help you in the flying sequences. Then you’ll be able to control buddy with the D-pad or analog stick. He’ll still move forward, but you move him up and down. Buddy’s controls work very well. As for the boy, you’ll just control his jumping and that works well too.

Buddy and Me also has off-tv play on the Wii U gamepad (a feature I love). Though, the game doesn’t take advantage of the Wii U’s touch screen support or create a second screen experience. I think no touch screen support is a big missed opportunity. The boy’s room on the main menu looks like it would be a neat area to have some touch screen interaction with objects. Also, it would have been neat if you could’ve called Buddy in for help by touching him. Buddy & Me really could have been a lot of better then it is. There are some extra things to unlock like seasons and outfits, but none of the extras really add much to the game! There’s so much here that needs improvement. Even the graphics, while wonderful, could have been even better.

Buddy and Me has an excellent look to it. From the animation to the character design work, the graphics in Buddy & Me look like something out of a good 2D animated movie. The game’s graphics are definitely the best thing about Buddy & Me. That said, its too bad there isn’t a little more variety to the graphics.  The game looks wonderful, but, in the end the player is seeing the same level over and over with only minor season and platform variations. Buddy and Me is a good looking game that could have been even better looking with more to look at.

As for the game’s audio, I think its pretty good. The soundtrack is lighthearted and fun. The little voice work that can be found in the game is nice and fits well. Even the game’s sound effects are good. But just like the graphics, there could be more variety to the soundtrack. With Buddy and Me, it feels like there just could have been more to the game overall. The graphics and soundtrack are good, but the lack of variety in what we see, hear, and do holds the game back. I think Buddy & Me could have been an excellent game if there had just been more to it. As it stands, Buddy and Me is just an ok game.

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Buddy and Me: Dream Edition isn’t the game I was hoping it would be. I saw the game’s wonderful graphics and expected that the game would be a lot of fun. Instead, the game is too repetitive and dull. There is no story and the game doesn’t take advantage of the gamepad much other then the basic Off-TV play. Buddy and Me feels like a missed opportunity overall. With a story, a bunch of levels, and some enemies or extra challenges to avoid, Buddy & Me would have been a brilliant game. Yes, the game does have nice looking graphics, a good soundtrack, and fine controls, but its has no variety or soul to it. Don’t let Buddy and Me’s pretty face fool you, the game could be so much better than it is!

Thank you to Sunbreak Games for providing a copy of Buddy & Me: Dream Edition for review. The game is out now on the Wii U eshop.

Positives

• Wonderful graphics
• Good Audio
• Nice controls
• Off-TV Play

Negatives

• No Story
• Repetitive Gameplay
• Lacks Variety
• Doesn’t Take Advantage of the Wii U Gamepad Much

Trailer