Welcome to CNN Underscored’s Cozying Up column, where we review cozy video games, including indie titles, narrative-based games and farming and life sims. So sit back, get cozy and let’s play!
Are you looking to boost your good karma in 2024? What if I said you could do it from your very own couch and have fun with it too? Enter: KarmaZoo, a super-cooperative video game best played online that rewards you in points, or Karma Hearts, for your kind actions toward other players.
Here are this cozy gamer’s thoughts on KarmaZoo after playing it for the past two months (with friends and strangers alike) on PlayStation 5.
Enter the Loop online to beat levels cooperatively or host a Totem for couch co-op minichallenges in this feel-good cozy video game featuring more than 50 playable characters and 300-plus level opportunities.
What makes it a cozy game
Simple to start but challenging to master
KarmaZoo is a fantastic example of a video game that’s easy to just pick up and play. After completing a very brief and simple tutorial, you can jump into a Loop (i.e., five consecutive levels played online with friends or strangers) or a Totem (i.e., a tournament-style series of minigames played locally or online). While Totem is certainly a nice-to-have option, I think most gamers will prefer playing Loops, in which up to 10 players work together to make it past five out of a possible 300-plus randomly generated levels.
Controls are very simple, with just three main buttons designated for jumping, singing and performing a special ability, so even young gamers and people who are new to video games should be able to quickly and easily pick up on them. The real challenge (and fun) comes with working alongside other players to complete each level before the clock runs out while also trying to find and gather every attainable fruit on the way to the finish line. During this journey, players can also gain Karma Hearts by helping one another (think: standing on switches to open doors through which other players can pass or singing toward a platform to make it move vertically or horizontally while another player stands on it).
Each playable character — either an animal like a lion or mouse, or a small object like a lantern or bell — also has its own unique ability, which helps keep the game feeling fresh by introducing new possible player interactions and ways to beat each level. For example, you can ignite fire pits as the Flame character, hover in midair as the Pear or jump three times in a row instead of just twice as the Frog, my personal favorite at the moment.
If you make it through all five levels in a Loop, each player will be awarded a bunch of Karma Hearts that they can then use to unlock and play as new characters, no real-life money necessary. Simply playing the game also contributes to the KarmaPass, a worldwide Karma meter that slowly but surely reveals new bonuses and characters for all global KarmaZoo players, free of charge. (Think of it as a transaction-free, communal battle pass system that you never have to check in on in order to reap the benefits from.)
Cooperation and humor set it apart
KarmaZoo is truly the most cooperative game I’ve ever played, with nothing but teamwork, encouragement and good vibes fueling the gaming experience. Sticking together as a group to solve each level’s puzzles is extremely rewarding, and even playing online with complete strangers is a joy, something I’ve literally never said about any other video game.
Playing with friends, it was fun to see where everyone excelled. My friend Joe was naturally great at finding all the secret tunnels, for example, while I was pretty good at … “sacrificing” myself on spikes to create tombstones for others to walk over (i.e., dying repeatedly — for Karma!).
The game is also full of fun details that inject variety and humor into every gameplay loop, such as the cards you vote on democratically between levels. Some cards give all players a certain amount of Karma Hearts, while others will turn every player into the same character, but my absolute favorites replace all background music with either a drum, piano or saxophone solo that truly changes the entire vibe of the level (for the better, obviously).
Crossplay opportunities abound
KarmaZoo is available on PC and all major consoles, and with crossplay enabled, players are able to play online with their friends who own the game, well, anywhere! If you want to play it on the Switch but your friend has it on PC? No problem! You can still play together.
And at a very reasonable price point of $10, it should be a pretty easy sell for most online gamers. Heck, you could even gift the game to some friends at this price (if they agree to play a few rounds with you every once in a while, of course).
What makes it a not-so-cozy game
A little (or a lot) chaotic
Warning: Playing KarmaZoo online with the maximum number of 10 players can lead to a very chaotic screen. If you typically have trouble keeping track of your character in, say, fighting games like Super Smash Bros., KarmaZoo may prove to be more stressful than relaxing, even though it isn’t itself a fighter. You’ll have to play a few Loops to decide what works best for you, but I’ve found that two-player Loops can be a little boring, nine- to 10-player Loops can get very chaotic and five- to seven-player Loops are often just right.
Small player base
Despite KarmaZoo’s availability on every console, sometimes I’ll have to wait up to seven to 10 minutes in an online lobby to play with even one other non-friend player. If you have a dedicated group of friends that’s willing to play with you every now and then, this isn’t a problem at all, but for gamers who want to jump into a Loop or two only with randomly matched players, they might not find the wait times worth it.
Bottom line
If you’re interested in a new cooperative game to play with a few (or way more than a few) friends, KarmaZoo is a great $10 solution to more expensive party games like Party Animals ($20 to $30) that you’d probably stop playing after just a few weeks anyway. This game’s crisp visuals, sprinkles of humor and cute, approachable character and level designs make it fun for younger and older gamers alike, and its simple but innovative touches are what continue to make Devolver Digital my favorite indie video game publisher. If you can handle potentially long lobby wait times on weekday evenings, KarmaZoo is well worth its generously affordable price tag, especially with its regular, hands-off, always free updates.
The karmically satisfying KarmaZoo is now available for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
