Kao the Kangaroo Sees The Return of a Niche Dreamcast Platformer Later This Year

Tate Multimedia has announced that niche platforming character Kao the Kangaroo will be making his return in a brand new game, launching later this year.

Originally launched on the Dreamcast back in 2000, Kao the Kangaroo was a pretty average Crash Bandicoot-like platformer, but managed to spawn a few sequels before disappearing after 2005. Now, original developer Tate Multimedia is back with a brand new game, rebooting the character for a modern audience, and we've got a lovely gameplay trailer to check out.

Once again, it seems that Kao (pronounced K-O, if you're interested) is taking a leaf from the bandicoot's book, with plenty of the game mechanics in the trailer looking very similar to Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. Still, it looks pretty lovely, with a very nice art style, and in a time where 3D platformers are no longer crowding the market, perhaps Kao can carve out a bigger niche than he did in the early 2000s.

“It’s really exciting to finally be able to say to people that, yes, we will be launching Kao the Kangaroo this summer,” says head of studio at Tate Multimedia, Kaja Borowko. “Throughout development, it’s been important to us to make sure Kao’s new adventure both feels like a tribute to his previous outings for existing fans, as well as a fresh, contemporary platformer for newcomers. This is not a sequel, this is a complete reboot, and we can’t wait to see players young and old come together to take on the role of Kao once more this summer.”

Kao the Kangaroo is hopping onto Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC in Summer 2022. You can check out the full gameplay reveal trailer down below.