It’s often said that death is a feature, not a bug. When we think about death in video games, we may think of something ending. Death can mark the end of a run that was going well. Death means possibly having to start from a previous locati – oh no, when was the last save? Depending on what you’re playing, death can mean significant setbacks. But yes, this is where we come in to say that so much can be gained from death as well. It’s an opportunity to learn new mechanics, perfect skills and even problem solve for better solutions. Death in games should be looked at as a beginning, or as a path forward. There is a mile-long list of games that ask us to embrace death and learn from our mistakes, while still providing players with new ways to progress. Death can be an opportunity for something new – especially when death actually helps players gain more than they lose. This is KarmaZoo’s philosophy. From Devolver Digital and developer Pastagames comes a unique project about cooperative death.
KamraZoo is a side-scrolling, platformer party game full of joyful chaos that encourages players to die for the sake of progression. Working together with others, players will navigate a series of puzzles and traps with the objective of helping teammates. With each death, players work with a karma system that awards points for every sacrifice. Not to worry, though, as players will be reincarnated to join the team after they die. Throw yourself on spikes (yes, on purpose!) to create blocks for others to jump on to help make their way. Use the special abilities of a wide array of avatar creatures to boost teammates up to high platforms, create alternate paths and even break down barriers for others. In KarmaZoo, die as much as you like but never stay alone. Wandering away from the group, or running off on our own, is the only way to truly die.
At its core, KarmaZoo is a unique party game that’s visually vibrant and spectacularly unhinged. Detailed environments that are handcrafted by developers feature a variety of puzzles, secrets and hazards. With around 200 different levels across four unique environments to play with, KarmaZoo offers so much content to explore. Taking inspiration from classic platformers, KarmaZoo tests players’ precision in traversal while also rewarding them for their exploration. Careful eyes and patience can help players find secret areas that yield bonuses like fruit currency. Fruit is used to vote for stage bonuses before each level. Bonuses can be purely aesthetic, like changing the fruit to pizza slices, or having the level soundtrack be only saxophone music. But other bonuses may yield extra karma hearts or change all avatars to be more powerful. These decisions come down to a vote and it becomes a democratic scenario. Once in the level, it’s a cooperative effort to complete the map and search for all its goodies. Level design is intuitive and fun, with some levels offering more challenges than others. Through trial, error and dying, you find a way to cooperate without saying much.
This preview was conducted with a group of ten who were all strangers to each other. While we were on voice chat during our demo, KarmaZoo was developed with non-verbal communication in mind. There’s no in-game voice chat, but this decision was to avoid any kind of gatekeeping that could come about from social circles. Pastagames should be commended for how accessible they’ve made KarmaZoo to everyone. A large part of the game is actually about not sharing information prior to levels or even talking during. Instead, players must use a combination of emotes and in-game gestures to direct teammates to objectives. And of course, the tried and true “please-come-here-I’m-jumping-in-one-spot.” Hilarity ensues as player avatars energetically jump and gesture their way through floating platforms, trap doors and electrified puzzles. Who stays here to trigger the switch for the door so someone else can go complete the puzzle? Who would be best to help us with traversal? The opportunities are almost endless, especially when levels build according to the avatars chosen by players.
The game adapts to your team and everyone can have their moment of glory in some shape or form. Perhaps our friend who has chosen to play as the spider will need to build webs for us so that we may reach a high platform. The giant clam avatar allows for someone to act as a platform for others to jump off. The elephant can break down blockades for teammates to run through. Whatever the skills, players will always receive points for helping teammates. There are so many more avatars to choose from that players can purchase with Karma points. The title prides itself on keeping currency simple. The main currency for buying skill upgrades and additional avatars are the Karma Points. These are acquired whenever you help others through avatar abilities, puzzle solving or dying for the sake of others. When players purposefully impale themselves, a little grave block is created. Points are awarded to the player who died when other teammates use the block.
As the level progresses it becomes a healthy dose of “coopitive” play – or cooperative competitive, as the developers have coined. Suddenly everyone is jumping on spikes to be awarded hearts after reincarnation as the symbiotic mob of player avatars moves voraciously through the level. KarmaZoo allows for all sorts of shenanigans, but beware as getting separated from the group can lead to a real death. When clumped as a group, a “halo” encompasses the group that serves as a protective bubble. Separating from the group creates one’s own bubble, but it only lasts a short time before the player dies a true death. As long as a player is with at least one other person, they’ll be okay. Since more hearts are awarded if all players reach the end, it creates an incentive not to leave anyone behind. If all players exit the level together, everyone’s hearts are distributed to all players. Winning alone only yields your own hearts. Since karma hearts are required for upgrades and unlocks, it ends up being in everyone’s interest to clear levels together. Yet sometimes mistakes happen. The group may not notice someone got stuck on something. Perhaps someone wandered too far on their own. Regardless, once a player’s own halo recedes completely, they will die. But even a real death in this game does not mean the end. Players who die permanently will spawn as an adorable ghost that can move freely throughout the level. Use your ghost body to show the way to teammates or pester them endlessly – the choice is yours. It’s a way to make sure that everyone can play all the time.
KarmaZoo is a hysterically-charming game unlike anything conceived before. Sure, there are moments in cooperative games where we may sacrifice ourselves for the sake of our team, but we as individuals are hardly tangibly rewarded for it. The team may win, or we may have a breakthrough, but if we’re dead it leaves the rest of the team to reap the rewards and share the glory. Meanwhile, you may still be respawning and catching up on the action, or you may now have permadeath that leaves us completely out of the game. KarmaZoo allows for us to carry our friends while maintaining an anti-gatekeeping mentality where all players can enjoy a party game. It’s a game of secrets where the more we explore, the more we uncover. There are two game modes that will be available at launch: Loop and Totem. Loop is the standard cooperative play that reincarnates you every time a Loop is played. The hearts that are gained from this mode allow skills to be furthered and unlock new creature avatars with new abilities. Totem is a refreshing change of pace for when you don’t exactly want to play nice anymore and we would rather be competitive instead. Featuring an array of little mini games, Totem is a fantastic mode for more party mayhem. After seven years in development KarmaZoo appears to be a highly-polished product that’s a chaotic joy to play. It’s a game about being kind and helping others – which can feel sorely needed in a time when online toxicity can take its toll. KarmaZoo teaches us that, in the end, being selfless can come back to us in good karma tenfold. KarmaZoo comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch and PC this Summer 2023.
