Ayo the Clown Archives – Xbox One Mag

You grew up with the irresistible mascots of the Nintendo and SEGA consoles during your childhood and today you miss Mario and Sonic? Looking for an Xbox alternative, but never found one? Then maybe Ayo the Clown is the game for you. At least on paper.

It all starts in the town of Ayo where our little character walks, accompanied by his faithful friend Bo, his dog. Dreaming of the cobbler’s granddaughter with whom he is secretly in love, our little hero thinks that this day will be like any other, before Bo mysteriously disappears. Ayo, worried, immediately goes looking for him and embarks on an adventure divided into eight chapters. The starting synopsis is extremely simple (and easily recalls that of Mario) and will be presented to the player through short videos narrated by a voiceover. The set is cute, rather pretty, but excessively childish. The tone gives the impression that the title is reserved for young children.

Ayo the Clown takes the form – still in the image of the famous Italian plumber from Nintendo – of a map of the world on which you go from level to level. The latter offers little alternative since you follow your path without ever being able to fork, or almost. Three times, you will be able to participate in levels of fishing whose interest is highly limited. Indeed, all you have to do is point your hook at the fish’s mouth before quickly pressing the “X” button to grab it. The whole thing is repeated tirelessly until the water point is emptied. This earns you some money (and possibly an achievement) which will allow you to buy a new balloon. Yippee.

But back to the main adventure. Composed of just over twenty levels, the latter is therefore divided into eight chapters. Each of them takes you to a different universe (aquatic, circus, candy…), ending with a boss fight. These are not particularly tricky since they simply require the player to learn a pattern by heart. Once the movements have been retained and assimilated, all you have to do is chain the whole thing quickly and get rid of your opponent who will be defeated after three moves (hello Mario). On the positive side, your opponents at the end of the chapter will offer challenges which, if not difficult, are varied.

The different levels are quite interesting. Sufficiently vertical, they offer, especially towards the end, a relatively tough challenge for those wishing to recover the six objects scattered throughout the course. These collectibles are hidden and require you to take your time and search the whole level, otherwise it is easy to miss them. Small flat, recovering them does not bring you much, except the fact of completing the title at 100%. It’s easy to get caught up in the game at first, and then you realize that it’s above all a way to extend the experience and inflate the lifespan. A lifespan which, in a straight line, does not exceed 4 hours of play. It is still relatively short for a game which does not have enormous replayability.

On the gameplay side, Ayo begins his adventure with astonishing simplicity. Indeed, at the starting point, he is incapable of the slightest movement, except to move horizontally. Fortunately, over the chapters, new skills are unlocked by carrying out small missions which all consist of recovering objects for NPCs. Thus, at the end of the game, Ayo will be able to jump, hang on to ladders, use a ball to jump a little higher and further… Nothing in particular, nor very original, in short. However, we appreciate the few phases of the game where our character takes possession of a vehicle (helicopter or tank, in particular) and which can break the routine. We also like some levels that remind us of the great era of Mario 2D and Sonic. We think in particular at the level of the casino, or even of certain adversaries inspired by what is done (has been done) among the tenors of the genre.

Visually, Ayo the Clown is a pretty game, fun to follow and pleasant to see, but which shows a sometimes disconcerting simplicity. Without exaggerating, we sometimes have the impression of being faced with an old-fashioned title that does not necessarily assume itself. We appreciate the variety of scenery, but we won’t remember much once the adventure is over. Too bad when you know that some 2D titles are absolutely fantastic and visually striking. The observation is about the same concerning the sound aspect of the title. The music is nice although they do not mark the spirits. The noises of our little character on the other hand quickly end up hitting us on the system.

Ayo the Clown is not a bad game in itself. He has certain qualities and can be followed without difficulty. However, it lacks many small things to claim to offer an unforgettable experience. It is one of those titles that end and that we uninstall knowing that we will not keep the slightest memory of it…