Reader Review: The Last Tinker: City of Colors (PC)

TINKER_BOXThe Last Tinker: City of Colors is a vibrant 3-D platformer in a world where you just don’t see too many of those anymore.  Since it was on PC, I had my brother Nathan review it.  So click to check out his take on this cool little game.

When the Bleakness brings peril to Colortown, there is only one half-monkey-half-human-type-thing who can save it: Kuro, the last Tinker. With the help of a piñata, a couple of mushrooms and a few lively Colortown residents, Kuro needs to harness enough power to defeat the white glob called the Bleakness before it drains the color from all of Tinkerworld. Meanwhile, the citizens of Colortown can’t seem to get along! Red is angered too easily, the timid green hides from anything remotely dangerous, and blue remains in a state of melancholy. Can Kuro bring the colors together and defeat the Bleakness before it’s too late?

 Being a Tinker, Kuro collects the powers of red, blue and green spirits throughout his journey. The red power is used as a basic attack as well as a ranged attack. Green causes enemies to run away in fear, either running into sharp cacti or at the very least giving you time to ready an attack. When attacked with blue, enemies stop completely frozen in their tracks. In addition to these, you can use the powers on your mushroom friends, Biggs and Bomber, for a variety of different reactions.

 The gameplay for The Last Tinker is just plain, stupid fun. Puzzles involve many unique elements (such as Biggs, a big dumb mushroom who can push buttons, and Bomber, a smaller dumb mushroom with a fascination for exploding) and challenge you to use your color powers creatively. At one point, you are even granted the ability to stop time, which becomes essential for completing puzzles later in the game. Combat is very fresh and extremely satisfying, which is something I don’t always see in 3D platformers. The pacing is where this game really shines, as it slowly introduces new game mechanics and becomes more and more enjoyable as you play through. It hardly allows you to get bored with it, because as soon as things start to get dull, it gives you a new way to play. This game is far from perfect, but it is sure to be a good time. 

 The Last Tinker has all of the elements that make a great 3D platformer. The controls are simple, the art is unique, the puzzles range from simple to complex and the game fills you with a sense of adventure. If you are looking for a colorful and mindlessly fun game, this is it. 

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 Kid Factor:

The setting, the art, the characters and even the straightforward plot of The Last Tinker are all designed to bring a smile to your face. There is very little that isn’t kid friendly about this game, but there were a few times where it was a little bit… questionable. For one, I’ve seen on occasion the word “damn” being used by a few of the characters. It’s very rare, but it does happen. Another thing to keep in mind is that this game has a lot of text, so if your kids are not able read quite yet, I’d recommend playing with them and maybe filtering the few obscenities that may appear. I’d recommend this for kids ages 8 and up.  –Nathan Woodham

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