When it comes to having dormant franchises, Konami is king. The old Japanese development and publishing house has so many of those you could build a few castles with them. All kidding aside, Survival Kids was a game released in 1999 for the Game Boy Color that saw a few attempts at revivals over the years, none that stuck, however. Now, as a Switch 2 launch game, the aptly titled Survival Kids is trying to bring the franchise back to the spotlight yet again.
Developed by Unity, the folks who developed the game engine that saw some recent controversy in regards to charging developers a ridiculous fee with each install by users, it’s a first for the team, which clearly shows. It’s an extremely simple to play game that is clearly aimed at young kids, and even then, it’s still pretty barebones. In it, you play as one of a possible group of shipwrecked 10-year-old-ishes who have to make do with whatever resources there are in one of a few deserted islands.
The base objectives remain the same between these locations as you happy-go-lucky-ly run around and collect wood, rocks, plants, and the whatnot in order to build bridges, rope ladders, and an assortment of other tools until you are able to finally escape the not-so-much-of-a-hellhole you find yourself at. Regardless of which level you happen to be playing, that’s how they all end. There’s no variety, creativity, or problem solving in the game, since everything is mapped out from the very beginning.
Luckily, Survival Kids can be a little more fun if you have someone to play with, and even more so if it’s a younger player. I had the chance to hand one of my brand new Switch 2’s Joy Con to a neighbor who is 7 and had some experience playing Nintendo games who got a slight kid out of this one. But being of the generation that basically grew up playing Minecraft, the game lost its luster relatively quickly, even though we did have a good time in the hour or so we spent here.
Presentationally, Survival Kids is okay. The graphics are very shiny and colorful, albeit simple and not at all demanding enough to warrant the game being a Switch 2 exclusive, it all animates well and is positively cute to look at. Perhaps the best aspect of this one is the narrator, who is played by someone who seems genuinely excited about their role and is very helpful at providing the little that there is to be learned in regards to the ins and outs of the game.
On the other side of the aural coin, though, the sound effects are very repetitive. VERY repetitive. They are played continuously and repeatedly ad nauseum. Jumping always makes the same sound, the same “yipee” plays when something good happens, the menus as well… my kingdom for some variety here, guys. Can’t be that hard to record alternates, right?
Faults, simplicity, and all, Survival Kids isn’t trying to play to its obvious low budget trappings. It’s priced at $49,99, which sure, is not $79,99, the new norm for retail games for the Switch 2, but it should have gotten a more humble price tag for what it is – very shallow in terms of gameplay even for its target audience, with not a whole lot to do as it wears out its welcome all too soon after starting.
That is a crying shame, since the original 25+ year-old GBC game, which landed on Nintendo Switch Online a few weeks ago, seems to not only have much more personality, but a whole lot more going on in it than this new one. Even Contra has managed to get a better revival.
