When the Switch launched back in 2017, there were only a handful of games available on the eShop, one was Graceful Explosion Machine from VertoxPop, a game that took the normal gameplay of the Shumup genre, but added a coat of paint that made it a visual treat as well, and after a bit of a wait, they are back with their next title, Super Crush KO.

The story is quite simple, one day lounging around her room is Karen, when a large noise comes from outside, before her wall implodes, kicking up dust and what not. Soon a being enters the room, gun in hand and ready to shoot, but a meow from Chubbz, perhaps the most adorable kitten in a game ever distracts this unknown creature, upon spotting the cat, she drops the gun, picks up the four-legged resident and makes a break for it. This does not sit well with Karen, so she dons her 80’s inspired jacket, picks up the gun and takes off after the catnapper. As you progress though the story, you do get more substance to it, but the core is explained in that opening and you really don’t need anything more. You do get to learn the mysterious catnappers name and why they are here, but it doesn’t really need it, just the start reason is enough, of course, now that you have a reason to run around the world, the gameplay comes into effect.

This is where things break, there are two sides to it, a run and gun shooter side and a brawler side, one of which works, and the other does not. Starting with what works, the brawler, there is a host of attacks, combos and more that you can use to lay waste to the army of robots between you and your kitty. You can attack with one button, but using the stick as well, will change up your attack direction, which results in different options, for exampling holding the stick up will allow you do an uppercut, which in turn lets you launch enemies into the air. In addition to your basic attack, you can throw in some more powerful attacks, once you have eaten the snacks that unlock them, these snack attacks, for lack of a better term, require power to use, no power means no go. The required meter can be recharged by defeating enemies, when the robot goes boo, you can collect a bunch of purple gems, which in turn refills your meter, letting you use the more devastating attacks. Finally, the other side of attack is done with the gun, pulling the right trigger will fire it, but it also aims on the nearest enemy on its own, after a few shots the gun will lose power and if you let it go to long, it will empty and leave you without it for a little while.

The problem with the gun is that it is almost useless, it deals less damage than your fists, but worse is that when you shoot, you can’t move, which defeats the purpose of a run and gun game, no matter how you look at it. There are some enemies that are better suited to defeat, with the gun rather than your fists, but they are on the rarer side of things. The game will also lock onto the nearest enemy for you, which is a nice thing, but when there are a few grouped close to each other and there is only one you want and the game selects a different one, it can be frustrating. You are able to direct your shot, with the stick, but I would have preferred being able to move around whilst shooting, that would have been more welcome. Just like you can shoot, so can the enemies and the earlier ones are just one shot in the general direction that you were in and are easily avoidable, later on though, you will get enemies blasting out a full spread, meaning you have to keep dodging.

That is one area where the game is a little hard to master, dodging is not something that is super important to begin with, you might have to dodge a boss’s attacks, but the opening levels are not so bad, but soon it becomes a requirement, even more than the gun. The issue that I had with it, is that there were times when I would trigger a dodge, only to have it take a moment to start, which left me to take a hit and while that on its own would not be bad, any hit sees your score/rank reset, which is annoying. The dodge will also last for a while if you hold down the trigger, which is nice, but as some of the levels get quite tricky the further you get in, there are times when you dodge into attacks and there is no way out.

One area that I was initially a little disappointed in were the visuals, everything was just so pastel, and I could not work out why they didn’t gel with me, but the more I played, the more they grew on me. The pastel pallet is used to great effect, and as the levels progress, the colours shift, just enough to keep them fresh, but not changed to a degree where it feels like a new game. The main character of Karen has an odd design, she looks fine, but in the game, there are moments when I feel that I am looking at a flash animation from the early 2000’s, not a good thing, but in the animated cutscenes, she looks great. The enemies from the mysterious cat nabber, all the way down to the very basic robots, look good, they have a similar design style that makes them feel connected, but each time an enemy appears on the screen, you won’t have to think long before you understand what their attacks might be. The only real complaint I have for the visuals is that they don’t really push things forward, I can understand the impact they were going for, but a little more wow would have been welcome.

Super Crush KO does not reinvent any genre, but instead delivers a solid brawler title and while the developers might think of it as a run and gun, given you can only run a screen at a time and have a poor gun, it is best if you don’t. The combat mechanics are solid, the powerups, at least how you obtain them is fun, but when in use, they become even better and sometimes the temptation to replay a stage, just to try and get a better score, is very overwhelming. I would have liked the stages to feel more open, instead of a series of stopping points, but it does fit the mould of a brawler, so there is that, overall if you are a fan of beating up robotic aliens and rescuing cats, this is the game for you.