Kale In Dinoland

A homage to the black-and-white Game Boy platformers of the '90s, Kale In Dinoland looks like a nice - if niche - idea.

Most of the goodwill you have for its concept will probably evaporate after a few minutes, though. Ultra-tough old skool platforming still has a place in modern gaming, but perhaps not on touchscreen devices. The setup is as retro as it gets. You play as Kale, and you're tasked with rescuing your girlfriend by traversing staple platformer locales such as jungles, arctic lands, lava pits, and underwater tunnels. Riding for a fall

You can jump, and you're also armed with a replenishable supply of coconuts to throw, but the real innovation here is the ability to traverse levels by using your enemies. You can jump on and ride most of your foes - for example, there are monkeys that allow you to climb vines and birds that help to flap across ravines.

Learning how best to exploit each creature's abilities is essential, but this gimmick causes far more problems than it should. A large number of animals are too difficult and unpredictable to jump on and control, with the constantly leaping hounds being the main offenders.

Having to control and fight such creatures in tight corridors is a recipe for frustration, and the touchscreen controls never make you feel like you're well-equipped to take on the challenge.

Throw in the fact you're flung back to the start of each lengthy stage once you lose all three of your lives and you've got a game that doesn't make the good old days seem so appealing.

Are you Game (Boy)?

Frustratingly, Kale In Dinoland does occasionally threaten to be more than a tribute act. The cut-scenes between levels have a dreamlike arthouse quality, and moments such as the long walk down an empty creaking corridor in the game's finale drip with atmosphere.

These moments are far too fleeting, though. The amount of work gone into the game's presentation is admirable, but Kale In Dinoland ultimately ends up feeling like little more than an elaborately wrapped and decorated box with packing peanuts inside.