The gameplay is shallow, the mini-games repetitive. Yet Kinectimals will win you over with it's impressive cute factor.
The charm of the game is plain to see from the second you boot up. An anthropomorphic creature named Bumble will become your guide - easing you into the gameplay by showing how to interact with your lovable Kinectimal and educating you on where to go and what to do next. Each moment of discovery leads to new toys for you to engage with, from throwing disks to RC cars. This level of discovery continues throughout, and while Kinectimals throws quite a lot of content at you – you're never overwhelmed. Its unfortunate then, that with all this content, Kinectimals feels quite shallow. With over 2 dozen competitions to play and numerous toys to interact with, it is a shame that many bare too close a similarity. While it isn't deep, Kinectimals is a pleasing title that has buckets of allure and may just enamour you to continue to play.
After picking your Kinectimal from a small selection which gradually grows over the course of the game, you get to name it (by calling it's name aloud) and having the Kinect hardware take a photo of you, which allows the software to recognise the player and have your cat become attached to you. It won't take long until you fall in love with your little one – the cats are incredibly expressive, exquisitely detailed and lovingly animated. They purr as they get close, love to have their tummies tickled and their ears scratched, and while the expressions are slightly exaggerated, it doesn't feel over-done and just adds to the charm.
The world the cats inhabit is just as attractive, lush meadows with dapples of sunlight, cherry blossom trees silently waving in the wind, water lapping at the beach – the environment is as inviting as the cats themselves. On top of this, it is quite well populated – hermit crabs fight it out on the sand, deer jump through the mountain clearing, and even other cats will show up on occasion, playing with your pet and eventually becoming a part of your growing brood. The environment plays a part in your adventures as well, with snow fights on the mountain pass giving way to coconut tosses on the beachside and obstacle courses in forest clearings. While the store that allows you to purchase new toys and furniture has a lemur for a proprietor, the background animals act like the real thing and add a touch of realism to the various settings.
By interacting with your chosen cub, you can take part in a variety of mini-games, which are key to unlocking new areas and learning the secrets of the island. Kinectimals is equal halves pet simulator and mini-game compilation, with a dash of home design. Each part leans on the other. Mini-games are unlocked by playing with your pet, such as simulating jump ropes or batting a ball back and forth. Successfully completing mini-games awards you with new objects, which leads back to caring for your pet and so on. The back and forth gameplay ensures that you won't get bored quickly, with your cub able to look after their basic needs and even suggest new items to play with regularly. In addition, there are hidden secrets requiring a magnifying glass and you can also collect butterflies with your butterfly net. Neither of these changes the gameplay drastically, but offers another diversion to try out whenever you reach a new area.
All this is fine except that the mini-games tend to repeat often. And while throwing a disc at dominoes is slightly different than squirting a water gun into a frog statue, you evidently feel that Kinectimals shows its full hand a little early, and within an hour you've seen just about everything it has to offer. After this, it's just new variations on the same mini-games and changes in scenery. The game can be at its best when it throws something different at you, such as the increasingly taxing obstacle courses and driving the RC cars through stunts.
The obstacle courses are one of the games real highlights, and the best opportunity for multiplayer. Your adopted cub will need to race around increasingly varied and challenging courses, ducking through tunnels, jumping over barriers and balancing on beams. You play along with the challenge, and after a little getting used to, it becomes second nature. Of course, your cub looks adorable while scrambling up a wall and weaving through slaloms and it is the only time you really exercise. Kinectimals seems happy to run at a sedate pace, and unusually for a mini-game collection, plays best as a single-player game.
The serene music background is subtle, leaving the player feeling calm and relaxed, while inviting images of butterflies and nature. The interface is slickly designed, and flicks between categories give a twinkle of sound. The only auditory annoyance is Bumble, who as a necessary nuisance can be occasionally grating, but never unbearable. The gameworld is gorgeously sweet but not saccharine, with the graphics hitting the sweet spot between authenticity and charming.
Overall, Kinectimals is the most charming game of the Kinect launch. As part of the jump to bring the Xbox 360 to a wider market, Kinectimals succeeds in creating a wonderful atmosphere and adding enough playability for the gamer to keep returning. While the mini-games are a little weak, your adopted companion is the main star and Kinectimals is a solid addition to the Kinect launch and one of the better titles to embrace controller-free hardware.