WILLY JETMAN: ASTROMONKEY’S REVENGE Review for PS4

Looking for a little Star Wars, a lot of 90’s homage, and a sprinkle of Wall-E? Well then look no further. Indie developers Badland Publishing and Last Chicken Games have teamed up to create this quirky arcade shooter for PS4—WILLY JETMAN: ASTROMONKEY’S REVENGE.

Indie titles often leave quite a bit to be desired when it comes to riveting dialogue, but these guys have piled the clever on thick. Sarcastic robots, an aloof and slightly egotistical space monkey…not a pairing you see on every menu. The wit is dry and chuckle worthy, a pleasant surprise from what one would normally expect from the arcade genre.

WILLY JETMAN: ASTROMONKEY’S REVENGE works in retrograde, starting briefly at max skill level before reverting back to level one, way back before Willy Jetman was an intergalactic hero (a few days ago). This is kind of fun because you get a taste of the glamorous astromonkey life with fancy, high-powered space guns and a super propulsive jetpack—but do not get too comfortable! Soon you’re back to being a plebeian trash collector. It’s okay, we all have to start somewhere, right? If only it were so easy to reach hero status in a matter of days…Spend the rest of the game working your way back up, casting aside your junky blaster and upgrading to more sophisticated weaponry as well as a jetpack with more fervent fuel.

The biggest source of irritation in this game is the inconsistent controls.To dispose of trash in the proper receptacle you must press circle or square, but only one of the aforementioned buttons actually performs that action. To shoot objects or enemies in the face, press circle or square, but—again—only one, not both, gives the desired outcome. What? In the wise words of Yoda, “Sense, it does not make.” This was more irritating on principle because once my insanity met its definition of doing the same thing over and over again in anticipation of a different result, I came to the conclusion that these directions were false. But still, if you are picking up this game for the first time, it is safe to assume that you might fear that your copy is broken. Get those thoughts out of your head—it’s them, not you.

WILL JETMAN: ASTROMONKEY’S REVENGE more or less checks all the boxes of a fairly entertaining experience. The 2D pixel art is on point with a classic RGB color palate and pairs nicely with quirky arcade music to carry you through this space adventure. However, in an oversaturated genre, this doesn’t quite make the cut. Nothing about the title makes it stand out in a grand capacity that is going to encourage me to rush home through traffic to play it. It is inexpensive enough that a casual playthrough would be worth your time and money, but to expect astronomical fireworks would be remiss.

Rating: 7/10.

Check Out the WILL JETMAN: ASTROMONKEY’S REVENGE Trailer:

Willy Jetman: Astromonkey’s Revenge is available in digital format for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

To find out more about Willy’s odyssey, visit willyjetman.com.