Funk of Titans
Overview -
'Funk of Titans' was developed by Spanish indie studio A Crowd of Monsters. It is a platformer combining the aesthetics of funk and 70s-style disco with Greek mythology. The player takes control of the demigod Perseus, here portrayed with an afro and smart yellow tracksuit, as he runs, jumps, climbs, and bounces through levels to collect vinyl records and battle Titans to establish funk as the premiere music of Olympus.
Video Review
The visuals in 'Funk of Titans' aren’t very advanced, being on the lower end of the downloadable game scale. The environments are bright and chipper, but just not that pleasing, and light saturation is a constant problem. Models are a bit blocky and lack detail, and some of the costumes (especially the pop Titan, who seems to be a spoof of Lady Gaga and/or Madonna) try their hand at satire but just come off as garish. The camera is devilish and cannot be controlled, which can lead to game overs during some of Perseus’ faster sequences.
Audio Review
With the title and overall theme of 'Funk of Titans' I was hoping for some kind of rhythm gameplay or at least good music, but alas we have neither. The level music is thin and repetitive. It does have a vague ambiance of funk, but it’s mostly the same thing over and over. Different genres only come into play during boss battles, and even then it doesn’t stand out. There is almost no voice acting besides Perseus’ caricatured blaxploitation exclamations.
Final Thoughts
Platforming on the Xbox One is a neglected niche, but even with sparse competition, 'Funk of Titans' doesn’t have much going for it. It's value priced, and a first time console effort, and the transition from mobile to console has not been smooth. It’s a mostly drab, joyless grind fraught with control issues and beset on all sides by a low production value. It had opportunities for humor and more compelling gameplay, but doesn’t capitalize on them, instead opting for shallow level design and an emphasis on quick-time events.
