Early Hours: Kraken Academy!!
The highly anticipated narrative adventure debut from Happy Broccoli Games is finally here! We learned about this game with hands-on time back during LudoNarraCon, and like the rest of our team, I couldn't wait to get back into life at Kraken Academy. I was pleasantly surprised to find the ability to transfer that demo save into the full game and continue the adventure. But since the Kraken Academy has one of the best openings of all time, I decided to start fresh.
Kraken Academy is best “elevator-pitched” as a Majora’s Mask-like; you have three days to save the world from destruction, and you can use an amulet to go back to the first day. But solely sticking with another cliche Zelda comparison does not properly give the game the credit it truly deserves. While I've only played a little over four hours, Kraken Academy has a lot going for it. What stuck out the most pertains to main quests and side-quests. The side quests help you build friendships with the characters you've met during your time at the Academy. Tackling these side quests only reward you with more backstory and substance to the game’s characters, which only made me love them even more than I already did. One of the students, Broccoli Girl, has been a favorite of ours since Kraken Academy’s initial reveal. Giving Broccoli Girl the time she deserves in regards to her side quests only amplified my adoration for her. These payoffs are only a testament to how well Happy Broccoli handles the writing and quest structure throughout, consistently rewarding the player as they step into the shoes of a student at the Academy.
There are many different characters you meet along the way and the folks at Happy Broccoli do a fantastic job at introducing you to all of them. Ranging from students in the different clubs, the teachers, and many more. Each of the students, teachers, and other various characters you meet have established and grounded personalities, including a more in-depth look into their likes/dislikes thanks to the delightful kraken-net. Broccoli Girl likes playing the drums, but hates thinking about her ex. Stix is a mysterious merchant who helps you progress through the story, but no amount of side-quests will let me forget he basically robbed me. Ms Markova, your music teacher, loves naps and her bio reads "I love sleep. It's like death, but less hassle." Honestly I couldn't agree more. You can't help but love the dark humor in Kraken Academy. With all the characters having this sense of depth, it makes the story enticing and keeps driving your curiosity to continue on with your adventure. The emphasis on world building paired with wonderful comedic elements and the core storytelling are all easily Kraken Academy's strongest suit.
It’s also worth mentioning how beautiful Kraken Academy truly is. The game’s wonderful pixel art helps build the overall tone of the game, exquisitely working into the actual world building Happy Broccoli already has in place in terms of its writing. The cracks in the ground, broken down bathrooms, and other elements rendered in stunning fashion truly make the Academy itself its own character, and really sets the tone of not being such a great place.
Being a narrative-focused adventure game, the gameplay itself is serviceable. As a typical broke student, you're able to do your part and recycle bottles you find either from smashing trash cans or in piles of leaves. When you convert them, you're given the currency "Shlotinki", which can then be used to buy furnishings for your dorm room and even some other items from Stix, who serves as the game’s merchant. This scratches that collectathon itch, and the ability to customize your dorm room a bit helps add a sense of active engagement in terms of moment-to-moment gameplay.
Aside from the occasional puzzle, Kraken Academy also utilizes quick time events in their gameplay. A prime example of how these are used are with pop quizzes. A circle slides left to right with the goal being to press "R" as close to the center as possible for a "perfect" score. Another has you repeatedly pressing "R" to fill the circle. Thankfully, you don't need to hit a perfect every time. As long as you meet the minimum amount needed, you'll pass. Even within my initial four hours, the QTEs occur too frequently, and honestly, I can do without them. It feels more like a filler chore or busy-work than fun.
If you’re looking for a chaotic, comedic narrative with utterly delightful and lovable characters, then Kraken Academy is a game that comes with an easy recommendation; not to mention being a debut title from a small studio. This quality of world building and character building, especially when it comes to comedic narratives, is rare for a studio’s debut. But with Kraken Academy, Happy Broccoli sets the bar high for what the future may hold. As I conclude this impressions piece, I’m eagerly anticipating jumping back into the Academy and seeing the rest of my adventure unfold.
Impressions by Jake Palmer