What a fun little package! It's an indie game, and combined with it being a 3D platformer it has an understandably short runtime. It didn't feel too short, though! It felt like I had time to get used to the mechanics, play around with them enough to get good with them, and complete some rewarding challenges just in time for the game to end.
The mechanics to this game aren't too complicated or unique, but they feel solid and provide for some enjoyable movement. The game's one main mechanic is the headbutt. Seeing as you're a goat, this thematically makes a lot of sense, and the implementation of it gives you a surprising amount of freedom. Being one move, you can use it to gain distance in a jump, gain vertical distance up a wall, and combined with some environmental obstacles you can chain headbutts to cover large gaps.
This sounds incredibly boring when I'm typing it out, but it was really a fun system. Similar 3D platformers of this style often have the basics like a double-jump, a simple attack, and a wall jump that rarely gets used. Those games get repetitive and without an extremely fun environment and good movement physics, they suck really bad. Corn Kidz 64 doesn't fall into this trap despite it's limited moveset I described.
I think this is largely due to the level design. There are two explorable environments with multiple objectives, and two linear levels with a set beginning and end. The two open ended levels are very distinct and have a wide range of challenges.
The first level is more about learning your moveset and seeing what you can and can't do. There's basic platforming challenges, it introduces you to some basic obstacles that you'll see throughout the rest of the game, but still offers alternative routes to get to the same place that can make the player feel clever once they've learned the ropes.
The second level is much more open ended and the objectives are more connected than in the first level. There are new enemy types, and in order to truly explore the environment you'll have to use your entire toolset. In both of these first two levels, the platforming itself is often not the challenge. The challenge lies in determining which places are even accessible to you in the first place. You'll have to press buttons to unlock new paths, and one challenge often leads to another. Something that seems unachievable to you at the time will likely be revealed in a few minutes once you complete something else.
It's in this second level you'll unlock a new tool that allows access to basically everything that was previously inaccessible, since it's the last move you get in the game. This tool is good and definitely remains interesting for a little while, but I found it uninspiring to use after the second level. It didn't feel like it had a nice flow with the rest of your tools or even the environments for that matter. It felt like "oh look that is a clear indicator I have to use this tool to get to the next spot." Maybe it's a nitpick but it was by far my least favorite mechanic in the game.
I won't talk much about the last two levels, frankly because I don't remember much of them. The third level is a pretty decent challenge and there were definitely some moments where I realized maybe I wasn't as good at this game as I thought, but I think that's a good thing. The environment was not interesting to me at all, but it was short enough that I didn't care in the moment.
The very last level is only unlocked after you level up enough, and is basically hell. It's called "Anxiety Tower" and that's pretty representative of how it is to play. I'm not trashing on it for this, I'm just saying it was actually gruelling to get through. The platforming is difficult and you'll have to do some things you never thought were possible. The worst part of it is that every time you die you start all the way back at the fucking beginning. This made me rage quit halfway through and I had to come back to it later. This was probably intentionally designed and added to the anxiety of the "Anxiety Tower" for sure but Jesus Christ didn't intend for any human to suffer through something like this.
The game does have a lot of personality! The characters interact with each other nicely and the humor isn't obnoxious or forced. The two open ended levels have quirky environments and the graphics are the nostalgia-bait N64 graphics that are popular with 3D platformers right now (hence the "64" in "Corn Kidz 64"). The character design is the thing that sells me. The main character resembles something of a console mascot and all the enemies are cartoonishly evil looking.
Overall I enjoyed it but I think there's definitely some things to be improved on. If the last two levels had cooler visuals and weren't just "tower of obstacles" and the unlockable tool had more ways to flow with the rest of Seve's moves this game would hold a lot more weight with me. The base mechanics are really fun and the level design as far as platforming goes are incredible. I'll probably replay this the next time I'm craving a similar experience, and I definitely recommend it for fans of the genre.
Love y'all,
PCx180e