2020-05-01_Official_PlayStation_Magazine_-_UK_Edition

087

REVIEW

INFO
FORMATPSVR
ETAOUTNOW
PUBGROUNDINGINC
DEVGROUNDINGINC

L

astseenracingwiththerestoftheSega

familylastgeneration,Ulalamakesher

long-awaitedreturntothespotlight

intherhythmanticsthatmadeher

nameinthegalaxytwodecadesago.Although

creatorTetsuyaMizuguchiisn’tinvolvedin

thisbelatedsequel(GroundingIncis,however,

formedofex-Segastaffers),likehisother

belovedgame,Rez,SpaceChannel5 hasbeen

reimaginedforPSVR,whichfeelsliketheway

it shouldhavebeenplayedallalong.

Forgetthequaintideaoftappingbuttonsto

dancetoa beat–inKindaFunkyNewsFlash,

witha pairofPSMovecontrollersyouliterally

dohavetocopyyouropponents’dancemoves,

whilethemovementtrackingmakesnewmoves,

suchasstrikingposes,possible.Thewaythe

originalgamesrequiredyoutomemorisethe

rhythmandsequencemeantthatit wasoften

easierif youdiddancealong(oratleasttapyour

feet),sousingmotioncontrolswhileimmersedin

thegame’sretro-aestheticworldis a no-brainer.

You’renotplayingasUlalaherselfbutrather

oneofhernewrookiereporters(whoalso

convenientlystandstothesidebehindherduring

missions,whichmeansyoucanfollowhercues

ratherthanhavingtogobymemory).It’sa cool

wayofmakingyoua participantwhilestillletting

youadmireUlalaasthestaroftheshow.

Thenew‘threeconsecutive

strikesandit’sgameover’rule

is prettylenientconsideringif

yourecoverinonesequence

thestrikecountwillreset,and

if eventhat’stoomuchyou

canjustopttoplaythegame

inSafetymodewithoutany

penalties.Butthere’sanother

unintendedeasingofdifficulty

asyoucanprettymuchcheat

therhythmmechanics.If your

opponent’smovesare‘left,

right’,there’snothingstopping

youfromstretchingoutboth

armsina T-poseandthey’ll

registerascorrect.

FLASH!AARGH!

KindaFunky’sgreatest

weakness,however,is thatwith

justfourlevels,thecomeback

is fartooshort-livedto

justifyitspriceofadmission,

especiallywhentherearefar

moreinterestingandreplayable

PSVRmusicgamesyoucould

playata fractionofthecost.

Infairness,theoriginalSpace

Channel5 wasa shortgame,

butthenit alsoprovideda

challenge,andNewGamePlus

offerednewroutesineach

stage.Bycomparison,Kinda

Funky’slevelsaren’tonly

shorterandessentiallysetin

onelocationowingtothePS

VRformatkeepingyouon

thespot,theadditionalmodes

are alsowoefullylacklustre

(callinga casual-friendly

tutorialversionofthefirst

level‘Arcademode’is surely

falseadvertising).

There’sstillfuntobehadif

youfollowitsrules,andjust

likelastyear’sShenmueIII,

it’sanothertripdownmemory

laneforhardcoreSegafans.But

you’lllikelyhaveyourfillof

nostalgiaif youjustdownload

thefreedemo.

CHUCHUBABY @DaMisanthrope

VERDICT

Kinda Funky is only

kinda a sequel, as it

shamelessly recycles

assets from past games.

While PS VR ought to be a

natural medium for Space

Channel 5, it’s hard to see

Ulala as more than a nostalgic

opening act for the rest of the

competition. Alan Wen

SPACE CHANNEL 5 VR:

KINDA FUNKY NEWS FLASH

A groovy comeback that’s over in a flash

PS VR REVIEW