PN Review: Chubbins
Chubbins is a new Wii U action platformer previously released on iOS. Truthfully its origins show in many ways. There’s just 5 worlds with no themes to speak of, there isn’t any story whatsoever, and even Chubbins himself (a pudgy rabbit) shows little in the way of personality. The focus is on the gameplay. While it does show promise, some regrettable decisions (with one in particular) make this game a tough recommendation in its present state.
Control is as simple as a button press – and multiple controllers are supported. This sounds easy in theory, but in application it isn’t as Chubbins is always in motion. Thus you’ll need accurate aiming, pinpoint timing, and just a general proficiency with platformers if you hope to make much progress – a slow and steady approach won’t work. There are only a few types of enemies and obstacles to deal with sadly, but given the high level of difficulty it’s not as big of a deal as you might think. Collecting veggies (whose color changing properties determine which obstacles might be bypassed) is a fun addition to the platforming on paper, but why won’t the checkpoints save them?
There’s soft and hard modes in this game, as well as a time attack (though regrettably no way to compare friend’s scores). All modes are challenging, which could make this a dream for high difficulty fanatics. You’ll fail repeatedly, yet Chubbins does well in making you try again with virtually no load times. I like how each of the levels are named. I do not like how you can’t save after them though, just after each world …
The platforming challenge alone is more than sufficient. Frankly, this saving setup feels like an outdated way to tack on even more difficulty, and runs the risk of boredom setting in as you play the same levels over and over. That’s unfortunately what happened with me. To be direct, the level designs just aren’t interesting enough to sustain repeated plays. Some of the designs actually seem in conflict with the approach the game takes, by encouraging exploration while clearly not setup for it! It makes Chubbins seem like a game with an identity crisis.
Perhaps worse, this is hardly ideal programming if you just want to play for a few minutes – all your efforts are for nothing! It’s taking a gamble when the primary focus is on difficulty. In this case I think it backfired. Difficulty alone does not a great game make. This current saving setup does the game a huge disservice, and warrants a quick patch. Such a peculiar and unfortunate design!
Speaking of boredom, the visuals in this game are on the dull side. The graphics aren’t bad, but they’re too simple – rather bare bones, with a shortage of variety and subpar character animations. Truthfully, the visuals could’ve been spruced up more without becoming a distraction. On the audio end, the music is okay, but the limited number of tracks means repetition could become a factor. The noise that Chubbins makes when failing has the potential to annoy after you hear it hundreds of times.
I respect the challenge this game offers, and for those who embrace difficulty as the primary focus, Chubbins is a solid enough game in spite of its constant nature. I want to say that while $5.99 is inexpensive, it still feels a bit overpriced for what seems to be a pretty straight port of a budget iOS game. I think a sale would be beneficial. Retro inspired difficult platformers aren’t exactly in short supply for Nintendo fans, so Chubbins is only average at best on the Wii U. It’s a repetitive game, throwing most of its eggs in the difficulty basket as the expense of interesting level design and console optimization. I’m hopeful that Dahku Creations next mobile port will make greater strides on Wii U.
