The Kudzu is an invasive species of vine found in Japan and China. It grows rapidly, quickly overtaking its environment and killing other local plants. What if this ferocity extended to humans and animals, though? Kudzu (the game) is a modern day Game Boy title made by Pie for Breakfast Studios and published by Mega Cat Studios. However, it doesn’t just look like a Game Boy game, it is one through and through, able to run on official Game Boy hardware. That said, it is also available on more modern platforms, like Nintendo Switch.
Kudzu stars Max, a gardener and member of a research team led by his master, Zoen. One day, Zoen goes missing, having rushed out of camp, machete in hand, after learning something of grave importance about a new strand of Kudzu that the team is there to study. Max follows Zoen’s trail, picking up his machete on the way, along with several other upgrades that will help him navigate the world.
The closest comparison one could make to Kudzu is The Legend of Zelda. Many Game Boy titles share this same visual style – there is only so much a developer can do within the Game Boy’s limitations after all – but it goes beyond that. The primary gameplay is action, with Max slicing down monsters with his machete as he tries to find switches to open locked doors and an area-specific item that the area’s boss is weak to. It is definitely very Legend of Zelda, which is not a bad thing.
The main way in which Kudzu distinguishes itself, other than playing as a middle-aged man instead of a little elf boy, is that its overworld and dungeons are one and the same. Each area in Kudzu, other than the starting village, is structured like one of Zelda’s dungeons with locked doors, puzzles to solve, chests to find, and a boss at the end. There are five dungeons in total, with the final one being optional and tied to one of the few side quests. Each dungeon is fine – nothing that stands out, but nothing terrible either.
While this approach to the overworld is unique, sometimes feeling like a Metroidvania map with unlockable shortcuts back to the main camp, it still becomes a bit of a slog to navigate in the latter stages of the game. Even with the shortcuts, it can take quite a while to walk from one end of the map to another. A form of fast travel would have been greatly appreciated.
Another aspect that could have been improved is the save functionality. Players can only save at designated resting spots found across the map. Max can sleep to gain his health back and radio his research team to record his progress. Unfortunately, these save points aren’t frequent enough when exploring a new area, and it is quite common to wind up dead and lose minutes of progress. Coupled with Max’s very basic combat (the machete is the only weapon he has), it can make many areas feel repetitive. Being able to save from a menu, like old The Legend of Zelda games allowed for, could have fixed this problem.
There is an argument to be made that providing the ability to save anywhere would make Kudzu too easy, removing some of the punishment received for failing. While this would normally be agreed with, most deaths will come from terrible invincibility frames and knockback issues. A frequent problem with the combat is that hitting an enemy more than once can result in them being knocked back into Max and dealing damage. Combine this with the minor or sometimes complete lack of invincibility frames, and Max could be doing everything right and still suddenly die. Knockback of Max himself is also not great, with some bosses bashing him all over the room and into other obstacles for an instant death. It’s unruly and very frustrating.
This is a shame because Kudzu is otherwise a pretty enjoyable action adventure game. It does not do anything unique with its genre, but as a homage to simpler games of the ’90s, it works. It has the correct vibes of a Game Boy game and pretty good visuals, with distinct environments that all make use of the titular invasive plant. Storywise, Kudzu is well paced, and the characters, while simple, are all quite likeable. It’s just bogged down by frustrating bugs and dated design choices that might only be tolerated by those with nostalgia for the era of gaming it has chosen to replicate.
