Warning: Neko Journey has bare boobs, but they’re optional. Still have to mark this NSFW anyway.
Neko Journey reminds me of an old Linkin Park song called In the End that goes, “I tried so hard, and got so far, but it the end, it doesn’t even matter!” Unlike, say, Neko Secret Homecoming, a lot of work has gone into this. The developers tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, Neko Journey isn’t very good. Maybe its the floaty controls. It could be the ear-splitting “voice-overs.” It could be some ugly graphics. The auto-running sequences are the worst I’ve ever played. There’s nudity, but its pointless. In the end, it isn’t one thing that drags it down, its a lot of little things that add up to kill it.
So in Neko Journey, you are an anime cat girl. You live in a idyllic village with your tiny sister. One day an evil wizard comes and destroys the village and takes your sister. Off you go. The first thing you’ll notice is that the jumping is floaty. It is hard to land where you want to, especially if you are jumping up to a platform. This gets even worse when you get the double jump in level four. You have to be in the right spot, or you are not making it. To kill enemies, you must jump on their heads. Considering the controls, its amazing you can hit them at all. Don’t get me started on to auto-run sequences, when you have to be perfect, or you’re starting right now.
Then there is the ear-splitting audio in Neko Journey. The characters talk in gibberish, ala Banjo-Kazooie. Except Neko makes your ears bleed. This is definitely a game you play silently. Then there is the washed out visuals. Look at the screenshot above. It can be hard to tell, especially on handheld, that an enemy is even there. I ran into an enemy more than once. The game is also an asset-flip, though lots of games I review are. I care about game play, not whether you bought your assets off a store. Finally, I mentioned above that you can have Neko run around topless. It’s pointless and not necessary at all, as it has no bearing on game play or the story.
Neko Journey seems long, and promises village restoration and elemental abilities. I never got that far because the game simply isn’t good enough to warrant a long play through. The developers tried so hard and got so far, but in the end, none of that effort even matters. This is a complete game, It is just that the sum of it parts add up to mediocrity. I peeked at the steam reviews, and they seem to mostly agree. The game is boring and not very fun. Therefore, I can’t recommend it, nor even give it a YMMV. Just pass it by. Not really worth your time at all.
Overall: Neko Journey tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it missed its jump and fell in a pit.
Verdict: Not Recommended
| Platform | Nintendo Switch |
| Release Date | 8/18/23 |
| Cost | $9.99 |
| Publisher | EastAsiaSoft |
| ESRB Rating | M |
Product received for free from the publisher.
