Kid Pilot
Review
Back to the good old days
by Jesse Gatt
reviewed on PC
Back to the Good Days
Have you ever wanted to go back to when you were young, playing with toys and your imagination? If so, Kid Pilot could be the new game for you. Published by Flamingo Studios, Kid Pilot is their first VR flight and adventure experience and is suitable for any age. The solo game places the player into the imaginative mind of a young boy playing with his toy planes. Players will explore new environments, discover worlds and encounter challenging boss fights. Can you become a top pilot?
Immersive Experience
Kid Pilot is a third-person title that allows both seated or standing VR play. It is a game that prioritises simple controls and the pilot's skill. The game's storyline is shared through postcards from your father as he travels the world. The stunning visuals (of course varying from headset to headset) with its cartoon art style, and the amazing job that Flamingo Studios has done with the plane dynamics, immerse players into a weightless world. Your toy plane moves exactly how you would expect it to, seamlessly cutting through the air, and turning sharply when you roll and pitch the plane through tight turns and thrilling courses. I even found myself physically moving my body with the plane at times.
This usually is not my go-to style of VR games (I generally play FPS titles) but having said that, Kid Pilot is a surprisingly enjoyable experience. When you get home from a long day of work, the last thing you want to do is slap on a VR headset, move around and get all sweaty. The option of seated play made it less of a hassle, leading to a much more enjoyable, relaxing experience. However, one deal-breaker (at least for now) is that Flamingo Studios has not yet implemented an alternative camera look system, meaning you physically have to turn your body if you want to turn 180 degrees. For some people, including me, this can become a problem if you wish to play seated but don't have enough room or a 360-degree chair to do so. If they decide to implement this in future updates, it would allow for more options of playstyles, and would even be more accessible.
The Hub
Flamingo Studios have taken a different approach here and I am a fan of it. Volara Radio is your main hub, where players choose their adventure, change planes, and can change between skins they have unlocked through progression. What makes Volara so special is that instead of having a boring central hub, it is a world of its own, in which you can fly around through hoops and practice your flying. As you progress through the game, the hub progresses with you. Every star collected is displayed alongside new levels that fill up the hub, bringing you closer and closer to the golden level at the top of Volara Radio.
Levels and Replayability
Kid Pilot has a lot to offer with a variety of experiences. On one level you could be having a relaxing flight through a toy-inspired world and the next is in an intense boss fight, dodging attacks and weaving through obstacles - you never know what will come next. One of my favourite levels was the speedway course where your plane has a rocket strapped under it, allowing you to reach super-fast speeds while taking tight turns, shooting targets and hitting boosters. This level took me a couple of tries to complete but was thrilling enough for me to keep trying. The boss fights and speed courses add great replay value to the game. However, there is no option to select difficulty, which will deter some players, as they may want to play a harder or easier mode for boss fights.
Some levels feel a little unfinished with objects phasing through each other, and poorly done animations (birds not flapping wings in mid-air). I did run into a glitch where a key I needed to progress through the adventure did not spawn. However, this was fixed by simply loading out and back into the level. To be fair, this is Flamingo Studios' first attempt at a VR title and these minor bugs are not a too much of a problem (just a bit of an immersion breaker). Some levels did get a bit boring, with underwhelming puzzles and tedious tasks which just felt like a roadblock to get to the better adventures, but overall I had lots of fun with most of the levels.
This game, despite being suitable for all ages, will not be for everyone. If you enjoy seated VR gameplay I think this is a must to add to your library. But if you are into FPS VR games or play in an area with minimal space, this is a hit or miss. I enjoyed the experience it offered as it was a nice change from my regular sweaty gaming sessions. The game takes around 7 hours to complete giving you a few good sessions, however, the replayability of some levels and attempting to hit high scores add to its value.
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7.0
fun score
Pros
Fun and challenging levels, ability for seated play, large variety of replayable levels
Cons
No alternative camera view option, some levels can become a bit tedious, occasional bugs.
