I often stop and wonder what the video game industry would look like if it hadn’t evolved past animal mascots. What if Naughty Dog had continued to pump out games like Crash Bandicoot instead of moving on to the cinematic world of Uncharted? What if Blinx the Timesweeper became Microsoft’s flagship hero instead of Master Chief? It’s a fun little thought experiment that leaves me picturing how franchises like Spyro the Dragon would have evolved to fit the industry’s ever-changing trends.
Froggy roboto Shoulders of Giants isn’t a standard 3D platformer, but rather a roguelite — emphasis on lite. The dynamic duo is tasked with cutting down aliens by jumping between planets, completing a few objectives on each, and facing off with an end boss. Successfully completing a planet generates heat, creating the game’s overarching progression goal.
That melding of ideas makes me feel like I’m playing a classic PlayStation game that’s been influenced by modern trends. It’s what I’d imagine it would look like if Sony took Jak and Daxter and translated their skillset to fit the roguelike wave. That approach isn’t new for Moving Pictures. Its debut game, Apple Arcade launch title Dodo Peak, played like a modern reimagining of Q*bert where players controlled a dodo collecting its eggs scattered around small, boxy levels.