5/5 ★ – stephenhill777's review of We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie.

Whether it’s the satisfaction of a freshly squared away desk, or the panicked hysteria of a kaiju in Tokyo, there is something for everyone in I Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie. A remake of the second, and best, game in the series, this adds a fresh coat of paint and a new gameplay mode with hyper specific challenges. For those who have never played, the premise is simple: a katamari is a small ball that can accumulate anything it rolls over, provided it is smaller than the ball itself. In early levels, this means you will start with things like coins, drawing pins or erasers. As the katamari grows, larger and larger items can be absorbed into the chaos, such as dogs, footballs and guitars. Given enough time, you will eventually be rolling over continents, natural disasters and even the gods themselves in an attempt to clean up with world. It’s simple, but undeniably bananas. The gameplay is perfectly complimented with an arguably inessential story, in which the Prince (you, the player rolling the Katamari) seeks the approval of his father, the King of the Cosmos as he basks naively in the compliments of his many fans. The King is an iconic creation, completely oblivious to the troubles of the world and literally won over by a single compliment at the beginning of every level. His ramblings are akin to lucid dreams or abstract trains of thought, frustratingly nonsensical and charmingly ridiculous in equal measure. As a background to the action, he is a perfect commentator. The game itself is short, but very much designed to be played and replayed again and again. It is one of those rare experiences in which the replay value comes not from different achievements or events, but from the sheer joy of playing each level again and again. Outcomes are inevitably different every time, and the act of rolling up everything in sight is both cathartic and soothing in equal measure. The game accounts for this with both a timed and free roam mode. So if you want to literally roll up the ENTIRE WORLD, you have the option to so while listening to the absolutely stellar soundtrack. Enough has been said on this before, but to reiterate: the soundtrack for We love Katamari is a modern classic, every single tune an absolute banger that perfectly encapsulates the bonkers vibe the game is going for. It’s a little off-kilter, yes, but wholly unique as a result. Speaking of off-kilter, the Katamari itself is occasionally awkward to control, but deliberately so. Rolling up protruding objects, such as pencils or bicycles will drastically affect how your Katamari moves. You will occasionally get stuck between elements of the scenery or get run over by cars, but that in and of itself is part of the fun. Additional challenges include finding all of the Prince’s cousins (all playable) and presents (accessories) while simultaneously trying to achieve the level goals. Some of these are as simple as making yourself as big as possible, while others are more specific and interesting. Some favorites include the Collect as many Tires as possible challenge, which forces your Katamari to run at top speed, or collect enough fireflies to illuminate a studying child’s bedroom. Others are more challenging, like when you are tasked with submitting a Katamari of a certain diameter, gauging its size by sight alone. It’s varied enough to keep things interesting, but never strays far from the primary gameplay loop. A brief note on Royal Reverie; while you play as the young King and the challenges are new, the stages are recycled from the main game. Compared to the core package, there is nothing outrageously original here, but it is more We Love Katamari, which is always a good thing. The most interesting stage of the lot is the night school level; in which you must avoid the ghosts while collecting musical instruments scattered about the school. The Royal Reverie is a pleasing compliment to an already spectacular package. And while this is more a remaster than a remake, the original version was so pitch perfect in execution that allowing us to experience it again but in prettier graphics feels like a wonderful dream. …except, no. It was indeed not a dream. We really did it. The King of All Cosmos has really done it. A sky full of stars ... We broke it. Yes, We were naughty. Completely naughty. So, so very sorry. But just between you and Us, It felt quite good. ♥ Royal Rainbow!