Donut Dodo from Flynn’s Arcade and pixel.games is a 2D single-screen old-school infused arcade-style experience on Nintendo Switch. Check our Donut Dodo review!
Donut Dodo from Flynn’s Arcade and pixel.games is a 2D single-screen old-school infused arcade-style experience on Nintendo Switch. Your task is to collect all donuts on each single-screen stage as you avoid enemies of different shapes and sizes so that you can then grab the huge donut that the titular bird will then steal from you to take it to the next stage so that you can do it all over again¬. It’s a game that is heavily inspired by the arcade classics of ages past, particularly by the Donkey Kong arcade experiences – but with more forgiving jump physics and no deaths from falling from anything higher than one character’s height like in the first Donkey Kong arcade machine.
There are three modes to choose from: Easy-Medium (Two Rounds), Medium-Hard (Two Rounds), and Sugar Rush Speedrun (One Round). You will need to complete the game in Easy-Medium to unlock Medium-Hard. And once you complete the game in Medium-Hard, you’ll unlock Sugar Rush Speedrun. There are five different single-screen stages to complete, along with a bonus stage that can reward you with a bunch of extra points.
For the first two aforementioned options, you’ll have to complete two rounds of the five stages that the game has to offer, as well as the one bonus stage as you use a giant pumpkin to bounce up and down while trying to collect all of the glowing donuts on offer before time runs out. Do this, and you’ll get a huge bump to your overall score while also taking a short break from the arcade-style action.
Given the gameplay loop for this one, the controls are simple and to the point. You must use the left analog stick or the D-Pad to run left and right as you press the A, B, X, or Y buttons to jump as needed. Some enemies you can jump over, while others will require you to avoid from a safe distance due to their height. Enemies have specific movement patterns, but you will need to be on high alert when playing in Medium-Hard or in Sugar Rush Speeedrun since enemies will be more plentiful and varied and will move at a faster pace.
Along with the delicious donuts, there are also some bonus items to collect so that you can boost your overall score. Said bonus items are cherries (1,000 points), strawberries (2,000 points), oranges (3,000 points), apples (4,000 points), bananas (5,000 points), and the all-mighty burger (worth a whopping 25,000 points!). Points are very important because, along with allowing you to climb up the leaderboard, they will also reward you with an extra life for every 15,000 points!
Donuts are worth 25 points unless they’re glowing. If that’s the case, then they will be worth 150 points times the overall combo you have going on. Said combo will count all of the glowing donuts you’ve collected for that stage, so if you want to boost your score as high as possible, you’ll need to grab all glowing donuts in the combo non-stop. For example, if you grab all of the donuts on the first stage as you walk near them, you’ll probably end up with around 6,000-7,000 points – depending on if you grab a bonus item or not. If you go out of your way and collect every single glowing donut to boost your combo, you can end up with 15,000+ points in the first level alone, thanks to the extra points you’ll grab based on the time left for that level.
In the options menu, you’ll get a chance to customize your experience. You can activate or deactivate the old-school CRT filter, decide if said filter should be discrete, medium, or go all-out with a burned screen look, change the bezel around the screen between the illustrated one, black borders or a neutral look, activate or deactivate screen flash and screen shake, activate or deactivate vibration, change the volume balance, and even reset the leaderboards.
Donut Dodo is a fun 2D single-screen old-school infused arcade-style experience that pays homage to a chill, long-gone era. It offers five different stages – and a bonus stage – with an additive “just one more go” gameplay loop in three modes as you try to boost your score as high as possible or complete the set as fast as possible in Sugar Rush Speedrun. Donut Dodo is out on Nintendo Switch with a budget price of only $4.99.
Disclaimer
This Donut Dodo review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Flynn’s Arcade.
