Day 221, Game 221 - Dokuro

Want to know a secret of the gaming industry? You might have already heard it, but possibly ignored it, overlooked it or flat out dismissed it. So here I am, bringing you a total pro tip, free of charge, because that's just how I roll. 

The Playstation Plus program is hands down the absolute best deal for your money in console gaming, and I would almost go as far as to say just gaming in general. And that would include Steam.

Every month, Sony is dropping a handful of free games on to the laps of subscribers, ranging from full-fledged retail releases to PSN gems, both for the PS3 and the Vita as well. Better yet, one PS+ subscription nets you the benefits for both systems, so those who are rocking the home game console and it's handheld counterpart are reaping in the benefits on both gaming fronts. 

One of the latest PS+ treasures offered up for free was Dokuro, a charming little platformer that is designed in a style not seen before (that I can remember, at least), for the Vita. The entire game is artistically designed as if it were all chalk art, which is a cool take on the "hand drawn" style that is more commonly used. The plot is a common one; you are trying to save the princess. Spoiler alert for anyone not keen on knowing about the first minute of a game. The game play follows suit with the plot, where you control the protagonist in his quest to save the princess. The twist is you start out with the princess, as she is constantly running to the right of the screen, which obviously leads to the end of each level.

While she runs on her own, she still requires the assistance of you for clearing enemies out of her path, creating platforms for her to continue on and essentially just making her route to the end of the level as easy as possible. The first few levels are quite easy, and the solutions to the puzzles in each area are simple enough to show you how to play the game. But by the time the first boss comes along, the game ramps up its level of trickiness - which is a good thing. 

None of the "puzzles" are really hard, but without thinking outside of the box, they could cause quite the problem. And that is one thing this game does exceptionally well. It makes you think differently about the environment and the path to take. It opens your eyes to a new way of thinking and makes you look at the possible solutions in different ways than you are used to. And that's a great thing. 

It's games like Dokuro that really showcase how special the PS+ program really is. I just hope you believe me on this. 

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