Game Review: Skylar & Plux – Adventure on Clover Island (Xbox One)

Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island is a 3D platformer that looks to pay homage to the platformers of old. The game was co-developed by Grip Digital & Right Nice Games. It’s available now on Xbox One, PS4 & Steam.

Skylar is a cat, captured by the evil CRT who has erased her memories & wielded a powerful mechanical augmentation onto her arm. Skylar manages to escape to Clover Island where she meets Plux, a bird who doesn’t feel quite at home on the island.

The pair team up to stop CRT from taking over the island & destroying its luscious beauty.

Gameplay is split into areas; the main bulk of the island being where the Lo live. The elder tasks Skylar & Plux with rescuing captured Lo & returning fuses that are hidden within different locations. The duo will have to traverse snowy mountain tops, a desert with ancient ruins, deep, volcanic caverns & CRT’s robot creating facilities.

Each area has significant hurdles to overcome but thanks to handy power-ups & upgrades no task is insurmountable. Upgrades include a jetpack that allows Skylar to glide over large spaces, an orb that can slow time down & a magnet that allows Skylar to pick up objects as well as standard attacks that are used to fight off CRT’s minions.

Each upgrade feels significant allowing more freedom to progress & go back to areas to rescue Lo that were previously out of reach.

It should be said that Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island is not a difficult game by any stretch. The platforming is simple to get to grips with. The worlds, while open, are not so expansive that it’s easy to get lost. Puzzles are simple to understand & offer little more than minor stumbling blocks to keep you on your toes.

The game’s controls are fluid & easy to get to grips with. Large groups of enemies can do significant damage but rescuing Lo will see health upgrades administered by the Elder.

Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island is a fun game. It’s bright, colourful & reminiscent of classic 3D platformers. It borrows from some of the bigger name games such as Banjo-Kazooie & Ratchet & Clank but manages to make its own mark on the genre.

Cut-scenes play out in gorgeous, visually striking comic book style but unfortunately it does come with a few issues. Visually it’s rough around the edges & it suffers from occasional screen tearing & lag. Sometimes these laggy moments will occur mid-jump putting you in a precarious position but thankfully they are very few & far between.

It also would have been nice to have had a boss battle at the end of each area. Something protecting the fuse as there is only one boss in the entire game. CRT is the final & only boss but it is a well-done battle both challenging & fun.

The main story of Skylar & Plux can be completed in a handful of hours. As stated above it’s not a difficult game especially to seasoned platform gamers. However, those wanting to rescue every Lo will have to throw in a few more hours for sure.

The hope is that what we have here is a starting point for a long running game series. The characters are interesting & the world created is one that deserves expansion.