Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara is a little trickster of a game. Beginning with an animated intro featuring four cheerful kids, bright colors, and jolly music, you might think that this platformer would fall under the more easy-going and cozy category. WRONG! You just got Koa’d. A tough speedrunning game, online leaderboards, and more hides beneath the bubbly exterior.
What’s more, three out of the four kids from the intro quickly disappear from the main picture. Though they claim to be Koa’s rivals, all while clamoring for the spot of the new member of Mara islands’ pirates by completing trials, they stay at the hub island for pretty much the entire game, serving as shopkeepers or occasionally participating in a race where they fall behind drastically about a second in.
It is a big shame because their presence was desperately needed in this weak, boring story. Not only that, they, and every other character for the record, are incredibly dull. The dialogue is flavorless, characters who try to be cocky get humbled the next second or apologize in the next textbox. These interactions are very short, so they simply need to leave a stronger impression. An overconfident character needs to be insufferable and witty if a player’s win over them is to feel good.
Admittedly, Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara openly and constantly avoids any character conflict. Koa’s adventure is just about her overcoming fun challenges, not about proving anything to anyone. She already went through a lot, as shown in the two other games set inside this universe: Summer in Mara and Stories of Mara. Every character already holds her in high regard at the start. She is very confident, albeit very easy to annoy. Just like the rest of the cast, she is not interesting here. A game can be wholesome while also having a strong identity in its dialogue and story—Koa, unfortunately, fails at this. Everyone is utterly forgettable.
Thankfully, Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara is fun. The gameplay is not without caveats as well, but let us be positive for a bit. Though a first run of a level may be underwhelming, as it may seem too easy or simple, it facilitates exploration. Each level hides one or three items that unlock new outfits, backpacks, ship upgrades, and more on the hub island.
Right, the ship. Traveling between levels is achieved by traveling on it between islands. There are some collectibles to be found on the open sea, but the most interesting part of it are the upgrades. It may be a jump, being able to traverse a different terrain, or simply going faster. I usually hate the “move faster” upgrades, I always feel they should be a thing from the start of the game to not waste time, but the player gets access to it here pretty fast, just as the map grows quite large, so I do not mind it. It works well here.
Ironically, however, the ship uses more buttons than the main, on-foot move set. Koa uses four buttons, one for jumping, a second for rolling, a third for grabbing and throwing, and a fourth for a ground pound. Not many, and you’ll mostly be using even less; the first two are the bread and butter of the movement. First, you jump, then you press the roll button to execute the fastest movement method, jump out of that for a long jump, and repeat until the level ends, unless it is a gimmick level. Sometimes you hit a button or throw a bomb, both of which are predominantly used for bosses.
This simple loop feels good because the levels are mostly fun to traverse. The basic jump is tight and precise, and while the roll’s weird timing takes a little while to get used to, a few levels in I was able to execute it without fail for minutes at a time. However, here is where the biggest problem comes in: the default button placement is abysmal.
On a controller, the jump is mapped to the bottom face button, while the roll is on the left face button. This means of the two things you will be doing for this game’s 10-hour-long duration are to mash these two in a rhythm. This is extremely strenuous on the thumb. Mine began to hurt a few hours in, and I had to change the roll button to a bumper. The keyboard controls put the roll on Shift and jump on Spacebar, meaning you will be putting a lot of pressure on your pinky. Not ideal either.
Thankfully, these can be changed, but many players, including me, might not consider the pressure being put on their bodies. Mostly because they don’t have to, not many games put strain on something like a thumb or pinky, but by the time they realize this, be it in the fervor of attempting to beat your best time or through playing casually, it might be too late and might end up in an injury. You do not want your main movement method to be like this.
This feels largely counterintuitive to the chill vibes of Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara’s visuals and story. So does the entire speedrunning idea. It’s a fun thing when you’re racing the other kids, but that’s rare. There’s one race per set of levels, and it is not even a challenge if the jump and roll technique is executed through even half of the route. The friendly atmosphere does not match the competitiveness of speedrunning.
My final annoyance concerns verticality in level design. Jumping from one step to another completely kills the momentum of the roll for one, and second, it is very difficult to tell whether or not certain jumps are possible due to the overhead camera. This could be fixed by a ledge grab mechanic, something that early Rayman games have embraced for example, as it would eliminate all doubt and make these kinds of leaps feel much better.
What could use some work are the music and visuals. The tracks are chill and very few stand out. They are largely drowned out by the noises of Koa, as she yells an “Eyy” or another noise after each executed roll. And while the levels look nicely complex, they are rarely memorable, and sometimes collision boxes on things extend quite a bit beyond what they should. I would much prefer consistency.
Two sets of levels do stand out visually, and I do not want to say what they are exactly because they are genuinely worth experiencing blind. One relies heavily on set pieces and is my favorite by far. I would like it a lot if that was the focus of more levels because it works so well there. The set camera angles, the music beats, and the sound design, all come together to make something truly special.
The tight basics of Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara are limited by the lack of diversity and a repetitive, strenuous main movement option. I enjoyed my 11-hour-long, 100% playthrough enough to claim the top spot on several levels’ leaderboards, but the ceiling the game put on itself does not allow it to fully shine. It comes recommended, but I hope the caveats can cool down expectations. It is a largely positive, if slightly confused experience with a lot of untapped potential.
Mateusz reviewed Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara on PC with a key provided by the publisher. Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara is also available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
