Kick-Flight Review

Soaring High

Going into Kick-Flight I wasn’t sure what to expect. Grenge has one other game under its belt called Pocodun, and that game isn’t even fully translated. Not to mention the fact that Kick-Flight is a mobile multiplayer game which has always been hit or miss for me. However, after plenty of battles and matches, I can say Kick-Flight is a solid gaming experience well worth the download.

The game starts you off with a simple tutorial to make sure you don’t get whooped too hard your first few matches. Right off the bat, Kick-Flight feels reminiscent of more modern multiplayer-focused titles such as Splatoon or Arms. The graphics are vibrant and remarkable as you fly around a fully 3-D arena and do battle against your fellow competitors. Most of your time playing will be spent on a game mode called Scramble. Two teams race to collect the most crystals scattered throughout the map and entrust them to their Guardian. Once given to the Guardian it becomes a powerful turret that attacks any enemy that gets too close. From here you can decide what to do next. Will you defend your Guardian? Chase down more crystals? Attack the enemy’s Guardian to make them lose points?

Each match is three minutes long, and every second counts. Time spent collecting crystals might leave your Guardian vulnerable to attacks, which in turn might cost you the match. It’s moments like these where Kick-Flight is at its most fun and most frustrating. 

Climbing the Ranks

What sets Kick-Flight apart from other multiplayer games is the method in which you get around. Jet boots are strapped to the feet or paws of whatever character you pick, allowing you to fly around the arena at high speeds. The characters or “kickers” themselves are very diverse and have their own playstyles and abilities. You could play Pitophy, a humanoid cat who focused on dealing damage or maybe Tsubame for a more well-rounded playstyle.

There are twelve characters in all, each unlocked with special tokens found through playing. What kicker you get when you spend your tokens, however, is random. The controls are surprisingly easy to grasp and it wasn’t long before I was performing aerial maneuvers to stay ahead of my opponents. Turning is a little difficult and I wish there were more ways to escape out of a fight, but overall flying in the game is as fun as it is satisfying.

Kick-Flight has three game modes, but two of them can only be accessed when you reach S Rank. This is done through winning matches and ascending the ranks which is easier said than done. Kick-Flight is very team-focused, but communication is where this game fails the hardest. Playing with random strangers is fun and all but when you’re trying everything you can to reach the next rank it can get pretty frustrating when everyone is off doing their own thing. There’s no in-game chat option or selection to indicate what you’ll be doing that match. This makes strategizing nearly impossible. So unless you find some friends or get lucky in matchups, Scramble is the only game mode you’ll be playing.

Worth the Flight

Despite said rough patches, the game is a lot of fun. Grenge put a lot of love and care into this game and it shows. The kickers, world, and gameplay make it feel like Splatoon but on a much smaller level, and that’s okay. While the absence of any options to communicate with teammates is a serious oversight, Kick-Flight remains an impressive game that I won’t be uninstalling anytime soon.