The wave of 3D platforming revival continues. Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2 is coming to PC via Steam on June 1st.
If you don't know who Kao is, you're not alone. Kao the Kangaroo was a Dreamcast platformer released back in 2001. That same year, developer Tate Interactive released a Game Boy Advance game which was also called Kao the Kangaroo despite being a different game. A true blue sequel, Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2, followed in 2005 for PlayStation 2, GameCube, OG Xbox, and PC. The franchise concluded - or so we thought - with Kao the Kangaroo: Mystery of the Volcano for PC in 2005, which was only released in Europe and it's believed Australia. Since then, developer Tate Interactive has held tight to the Kao the Kangaroo franchise. Tate Interactive announced the bouncy marsupial's return via Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Kaothekangaroo/status/1130829985852403714
Tate Interactive says it's only going to charge $1.99 for the Steam port because it wants to thank the community for their support. The developer also says it's not fair to charge players $20 for a game they've "probably played before". The port will be a "decent" conversion of Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2. The devs say they're updating the game to support modern screen resolutions but they're not changing the engine or gameplay. Presumably, whether or not this does well will inform the possibility of future Kao the Kangaroo games, including ports of other titles.
We don't yet have any footage or screenshots of the PC version of Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2. It's also not yet possible to wishlist the game on Steam. If you want to stay abreast of Kao the Kangaroo updates, you can follow the franchise's official Twitter account. Alternately, you can head on over to the Discord channel. Who knows - maybe this will spearhead a second/third-tier PS1 and PS2-era mascot revival. I'm holding out hope for the return of Croc.
Which early 3D platformers would you like to see make a return? Let us know in the comments below!