The Adventures of Cookie & Cream Review

You'd be surprise to hear it's a Fromsoftware game, until you are very abruptly reminded that it's a Fromsoftware game.

An very early entry in the PS2's life cycle. Cookie & Cream is a cartoon platformer about two cute little bunnies trying to stop the moon from being... evil. It's not entirely clear and all plot is delivered by very sarcastic and snarky chickens. So feel free to treat the story of the game as a prequel to Dyna and Tillo before they ended up in Drangleic.

Gameplay wise, it plays essentially like that one Mario Party minigame, Dungeon Duos. Each character has a designated side of the screen and you control both using the left and right analog sticks, with shoulder buttons functioning as interact. You can also play the game in a traditional co-op mode, which is how I played with BlasphemousRoar.

The game is definitely designed with the twin-stick gameplay in mind. Many moments have challenge that would immensely increase by requiring one to split their attention, or offer rewards and secrets for careful multitasking. However, even played traditionally, the co-op mode is rather intense. A timer constantly ticks down above, requiring a restart of the level if it hits zero. You lose time by getting hit, and gain it with clocks collected throughout the stage. The levels are well-paced, and often while a first playthrough would reach the double or single digits in timer, a second easily stays in the triple. Helping when secret hunting or replaying due to a last minute failure.

Which is good, because the game is also not as cute and friendly as it hints. Even well optimized some later stages and boss fights have a razor thin margin between victory and defeat, while several platforming challenges easily fall into the last of precision platformers or even some strange, Kaizo-esque manipulation of jumping mechanics. Like putting random tutorial signs you're meant to bounce across like enemies.

It controls well enough to mitigate most of this, though the camera can leave something to be desired. A diagonal viewpoint on a Crash Bandicoot esque straight line level leads to a lot of depth perception issues, though a zoom button can help.

All in all, Cookie & Cream is a game that gets a good recommend, especially if you like multi-protagonist games, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, or just really enjoy simple co-op platformers. Just be prepared, because it's not afraid to hit you with the git gud stick that Fromsoftware has been sharpening for literal decades. (And while Miyazaki wasn't involved, several notable names in the credits are indeed still at the company today)

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