Three and Out – ‘Nyakuza Metro’

A Hat in Time is one of my favorite releases of 2017. The previous DLC release, Seal the Deal, was an incredible package that incorporated both the cutest thing in gaming as a whole – baby seals – and relentless difficulty not present in other games of the genre. I was very excited going into Nyakuza Metro, expecting more of the charm I’ve grown to adore from the game. There are cats – how could I not be eager to see what captivating premise would be included in a game this adorable? There is also a bonus included with the DLC – “Online Party,” a functional fifty player online multiplayer mode, which seemed outright insane.

The base experience in Nyakuza Metro is fairly enjoyable. The new chapter takes place in an underground subway, populated by many black felines. As opposed to the rest of the game, this area feels much more ‘modern,’ with neon lights and various food stands complete with yelp reviews. The main plotline involves working for a crime lord known as the “Empress,” being coerced into collecting time pieces around the subway station. And that, I’m sorry to say, is the extent of the narrative. As opposed to most of the other chapters, there seems to be a significant lack of charm in this chapter. Nyakuza Metro seems content with offering platforming challenges around an open world as opposed to meeting memorable characters and getting smothered by love. This isn’t entirely unwelcome, but has been previously done with the fourth chapter in the main game, which was probably my least favorite world. There’s a lot of time pieces to collect, but every objective feels largely the same. The only difference is the coloring, signalling which station I was at. There was some merit to exploring beyond the objectives, as a few vendors offered to sell more cosmetic items to me. These supplied the charm I was so desperately craving, but I wish there was more of it tied to the individual objectives.

The online party is barely passable. While it offers up to fifty players, it is mostly asynchronous. No cosmetics are shown between players, there is tremendous amounts of lag, and interaction between Hat Kids is impossible outside of emotes. The whole purpose seems to simply race through levels together, smiling as you notice other players go for the same objective, and get a pat on the back when you get a timepiece before other players. Some of the new emotes are admittedly fantastic, like the ability to make Hat Kid perform a *boop* on something. It’s amazing, and yet doesn’t help alleviate the flaws with the mode.

Thank you for reading. Your Patreon support keeps our community entirely Ad free.