Animal Physics with DoubleMoose Games’ Animal Super Squad

By: GeekyGamerGirl87

If you are looking for a new out of the box interesting game to play that involves physics, and cute little animals in strange vehicles, then have I got the game for you. Developed and published by DoubleMoose Games, Animal Super Squad is an indie physics simulation that is available across multiple platforms, that is as entertaining as it is frustrating, but always makes you want to play more. One of my concerns for the game as it is available on mobile devices; is that some would accuse the game of not being able to hold its own and label it a “mobile port.” However, I can tell you that this game does stand on its own very well and I would be interested to see how the mobile adaptation of the game works out.

Before I begin my review, I would like to take the time to thank DoubleMoose Games  for providing me with a free copy of the Steam version of the game to play, so that I could write this review.

Animal Super Squad is a game that is all about the gameplay, as there is no storyline for the game. The main objective of the game is to get one of your animal pilots to the end of the level.  There are five different animal pilots in the game. You start off with –by default –Ruthie, who is a hen. You then must look for the other pilots throughout the levels which consists of Ethan – A sloth or a seal depending on how you look at him, Polka – A pink mean looking blow fish, Corndog –who looks a lot like Polka just yellow, and Slippy –who looks like to me to be a tree frog.

To get your pilot from the beginning of the level to the end of the level; you may have to use a range of 6 different wacky vehicles such as a Flush Master (A toilet vehicle) or Junk Propeller (a propeller made from junk) just to name a few. Although, you can choose to go through the level with just the pilot themselves as well. There are a few other vehicles that are included but they look to be in the experimental stage, which I interpret that they will be available later.  In addition to looking for the pilots in the game throughout the levels; you can also top off your pilot with stylish hats that you must locate throughout the levels as well.

Graphically, the game does look great. I really did like the look of the interface upon starting the game, it’s easy to navigate and even the side bar menu reminds me of the menu screen for XBOX One. I love the colors and tones that are used in the game. I can say with the sleekness of the menus and the looks of the game; it is very easy on the eyes, even if the pilot’s eyes freak me out a little.

However, when it comes to the gameplay; there are some issues that need to be address. There were a couple of times when poor little Ethan – my pilot of choice – would fall to his death and he would continue to fall to his death; leaving me to believe that I had broken the game and I would have to force close it. This was only until the game would finally register his falling as a death. This did occur a few times through a few of the levels. There was also another  time where Ethan went under the water ;and the screen did a split screen where the top half was the level and the bottom half was just an endless abyss. This took the game a minute or so to register again that Ethan had come to a death.

The game does offer the opportunity for you to play other users levels; as well as create your own levels. As I am big on customization I thought this would be a great feature. I also like the fact that it does show you what platforms the levels are for. That way if you’re on the Steam version you’re not downloading a Nintendo Switch user created level.

However, the one thing that bothered me about the level editor is that there is no type of tutorial to tell you how to create the levels. When you start the editor, it asks if you want to start with a tutorial level. Thinking that this would kind of give me a practice level in which they walk through how to create the levels I select “Yes.” All I ended up getting was the tutorial level, but nothing explaining what each of the components did. To make it a little harder there is no help section in the editor. So, if you want to build your own levels to share with the world; you must either wing it and hope it turns out the way you want, or I would suggest possibly looking up a YouTube video to get the basics down. I would even had been okay if the game  itself would have included a link to a video tutorial of the level editor; because it is a neat feature and I would have love to play around with it and create a level.

When it came to the controls for the game you can play with both gamepad and keyboard. I initially started playing the game with the gamepad, which the controls are not bad but just wasn’t for me. When it came to playing Animal Super Squad , I found game play to be a little more smoother playing with the keyboard controls. The only strange thing about the keyboard controls is what each of the WASD keys does. Pressing W causes you to accelerate, pressing S causes you to reverse, pressing  A cause you to lean backwards , and pressing  D causes you to lean forward. Once you get use to what each of the keys do, the controls became rather smooth and I was able to enjoy the game much more.

The game does offer seventeen achievements to collect for the Steam version, which I am happy for as I enjoy collecting achievements. For those who enjoy collecting trading cards, you will be in luck as Animal Super Squad does offer trading cards as well. With the ability to play a core game as well as user created levels, along with the achievements and trading cards; I can see that the game does have a great replay value.

Overall, I do feel that Animal Super Squad is still a fun game and can offer a bit of fun to those who play it. As the game is new, I am hoping they come out with a patch that will fix some of the issues that occur with the gameplay. Although, I would have preferred a tutorial for the level editor it isn’t necessarily a deal breaker for me; just more of a personal preference.  You can experience Animal Super Squad now;  as it is available and can be purchased on Steam, Nintendo Switch, or PS4 for the price of $9.99 USD or on iOS or Android for the price of $4.99 USD.