Nikoderiko Review – A Platformer That Recaptures The Magic

When I was younger, I used to spend entire summers in a dark room.

The kind where sunlight couldn’t creep in, and the only glow came from a CRT television.

My PS1 sat just a foot away from me, warm from constant use. Me and some friends would play Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Croc, Tomba, anything really that dropped us into a magical world with bright colors, tight controls, and satisfying secrets.

Those games didn’t care about microtransactions or live service models.

They were simple, joyful, and endlessly replayable.

And they didn’t just entertain me... they shaped me.

Gosh I miss those times...

But then, the industry changed. Big publishers took over. Ubisoft. EA. Activision.

Slowly, those heartfelt experiences gave way to bloated open worlds, convoluted upgrade trees, and game design by committee.

Most games stopped being about fun and started being about retention metrics. I tried to hold on. I played what I could. But the spark was fading. (Thank god we got indie games!)

So I did what any adult stuck in a nostalgic spiral would do. I bought an arcade cabinet (everyone does that right… right?)

Not even just for fun… but for survival. 

For the chance to replay the classics and feel something of the glimmer that enlightened that dark room so many years ago.

And then… completely unexpectedly, while I was enjoying my old collection of games, Nikoderiko happened.

This was not what I was expecting at all!

I had never heard of this game. No big press cycle, no flashy trailers. Just a charming cover image and a vague sense of "hey, this looks kinda like something I’d play on the PS1."

I booted it up expecting nothing...

The first thing I saw was a cinematic cutscene. No joke, it's the kind you’d expect in a full-blown AAA release. I was stunned. Was this really an indie game?

It really looked like Pixar had a secret side gig.

At first, I thought: okay, maybe they blew the budget on the visuals right at the start: no voice acting… Just characters pantomiming their way through a gorgeous intro.

But then… during the actual gameplay and dialogue mini-scenes, characters do speak.

And the voice acting is genuinely great. Not just passable. Charming, expressive — from the heroes to the quirky enemies and inhabitants you run into.

That was my first hint: this wasn’t just yet another lazy retro throwback.

Something deeper was going on here.

Could this game actually be good? Or was I just getting nostalgic?

As I moved through the world map and started my adventure, it hit me.

This game wasn’t trying to reinvent platformers. It was perfecting what made them special in the first place. It’s immediately obvious that Nikoderiko is meant for fans of old-school platformers. But the level of quality is what shocked me.

The level design is razor sharp. Each area feels handcrafted, with challenges that are tuned for flow and fun, not filler. Enemy designs are clever. You don’t need a tooltip or a tutorial box — you understand what each one does just by looking at it. That kind of clarity only comes from developers who know what they’re doing!

There’s even 2D to 3D perspective switching, kind of like you would see on Crash Bandicoot. You shift from side-scrolling to behind-the-back action naturally — and it plays great.

Sadly, those segments get rarer later in the game, but when they show up, they’re always a treat.

This game isn’t about pushing boundaries. It’s about celebrating what came before — and doing it right.

Each biome also has interesting mechanics added and new fun level ideas and special levels that make the game never really feel boring. From Pillars that try to crush you to dragons chasing you, the game offers you really cool little moments all throughout that keeps you engaged and smile.

One of those days uh?

But here’s where I got hooked: there’s so much more underneath the surface. Stuff that most AAA platformers can’t even bother to include.

Every level has secrets. Not just some random hidden useless thing to waste your time. Real, meaningful collectibles. You can gather letters to spell N-I-K-O (yes, like Donkey Kong Country), yellow floating coin-like things that remind me of Rayman, maps that hint at hidden routes, maps you use to buy chests, and these giant purple gems that tie into something much bigger.

But what surprised me the most were the mounts. In some levels, you’ll suddenly meet a creature — a boar that smashes through enemies, or a toad with Kirby-like powers. It’s pure joy and nostalic throwback.

This little fella is a whole lot of fun to play with, his jump is way higher than your characters, and I'm pretty sure there might be some secrets you could uncover just with this mount!

Later, you find out you can actually unlock these mounts for reuse through the workshop. It lets you bring them into levels at set points to help you out.

And it’s not just a gimmick. It's a reallly cool way to soften the challenge, or get you where you need faster to find secrets.

You can also spend the Rayman currency (yup i'll just call it that now!) on chests and epic chests, that act like lootboxes for new collectibles to add to your collection like characters, bits of environment, neat concept-art and more.

Everything is beautifully presented in the world map and biome map. The game's world & design is gorgeous.

And as you go through the game, it just… opens up.

Around halfway through, you unlock the Secret World. Each of its levels is gated by a key. And those keys? They’re hidden inside minigames, tucked away in regular levels.

The first ones are easy to find — just enough to teach you what to look for. But later, they get clever. Sneaky. And incredibly rewarding. The Secret World tying the currency economy was such a great idea, and there's a big surprise for those interested enough at the end :)

It’s the kind of design that makes you want to replay levels.

To hunt.

To discover.

Not because of some checklist no! Because you’re curious.

The game is incredibly rich and replayable, and only for the right reasons.

But of course, this all falls apart if the controls don’t feel right?

Well the moveset itself is simple: jump, ground pound, and slide. That’s it.

But the genius is in the details and the smart coding of the developers.

The sliding mechanic has this satisfying quirk — if you hit an enemy, and there’s another one nearby, you keep sliding. You chain hits. It feels like you’re flowing through enemies like water. That small tweak alone adds so much rhythm to how you move.

It also has three difficulty settings, which I love. I could play it solo and enjoy the challenge, then hand the controller to my kids and let them experience it too. My 4 and 8-year-old actually had fun — which is rare for a game that isn’t designed like a toddler’s TV show.

And yes — full co-op. Not tacked on. Not broken. Actually works.

You come for the nostalgia. But you stay for the craftsmanship.

I didn’t expect Nikoderiko to move me. But it did. It’s not flawless — the story is barely there, and the music? Sadly, it’s repetitive and forgettable. Especially during boss fights (don't want to spoil too much but those were really fun to tackle. And again some great coding work is at display to offset your bad targeting and it feel smooth to go through.

Music is really the one area where the game really stumbles.

Still, I get it. Budget constraints. Small team. Limited time.

And despite that? They pulled off something special.

Boss fights have all their own twist, which makes for a great time!

So what does it all mean? What’s the bigger picture here?

It means that indie devs are keeping the soul of gaming alive.

While the giants chase engagement stats and seasonal monetization, the awesome team at Vea Games is out here making a games that reminds us why we started playing in the first place.

Games like Nikoderiko don’t come from a place with trend analysis.

They come from a place of love.

Other than a really frustrating late-game boss fight that had me pull my hair out (probably the only mistake I could see on how they designed an intermission of a boss fight was right there), I spent every moment playing the game with a smile on my face. I could see myself as an 8 y.o again, just trying to master the maps, find treasure and have the best time going through the whole experience.

And if you're like me, and miss what gaming used to feel like, just give it a shot!

I actually liked it so much I went and bought a copy for the switch!

The game kind of flew under the radar of so many, but the potential for this game would be phenomenal with more budget to iron out it's quirks and some of its less polished aspects.

I am really looking forward to what they could do with more budget really, this has the seed of a great indie franchise, and I would really love to see the devs bloom that into existence!

Let’s make sure this kind of magic doesn’t fade away again!

✅ Positives

• ✅ Feels like a true spiritual successor to PS1-era platformers

• ✅ Gorgeous aesthetic and shockingly high production value for an indie game

• ✅ Tight, responsive controls with smart sliding mechanics

• ✅ Clever, well-hidden secrets and collectibles that reward exploration

• ✅ Mounts and workshop system add real gameplay variety

• ✅ Fully playable in solo and co-op, with scalable difficulty

• ✅ Kid-friendly without dumbing anything down

• ✅ Three levels of difficulty to cater to everyone (with some serious challenge)

• ✅ Smart enemy design — every encounter is intuitive

• ✅ Secret World and mini-games give it strong replay value

  
  

❌ Negatives

• ❌ Music is repetitive and often underwhelming, especially in boss fights

• ❌ Cutscenes lack consistent voice acting, breaking immersion

• ❌ The story feels rushed and anticlimactic

• ❌ 2.5D gameplay segments dwindle later in the game

Rating: 4/5 Highly Recommended

A copy of Nikoderiko was kindly provided for this review.

But that wasn't enough so I had to get a copy on the switch too ;)