Unhappy Raccoon Might Make You Unhappy
Unhappy Raccoon is a roguelike action combat game that is free-to-play on the App Store. Though the visuals and gameplay offer some entertainment, the game’s flaws make it not worth investing too much time into.
In Unhappy Raccoon, you play as one of a few anthropomorphic heroes as you battle through dungeons containing traps and enemies of increasing difficulty. The first hero you play as is Kitana, a cheetah equipped with a crossbow. Kitana has the lowest power of all the playable characters, so you will need to switch out heroes after completing the tutorial to get through harder levels. Caenis is a blade-wielding wolf who’s fast and excellent for close combat battles. He can deal three times combos and slow time. Each hero has special skills that offer unique combat options.
Your heroes can earn upgrades and equipment throughout the game, which imbues elemental attacks, set bonuses that grant passive abilities and furry raccoon companions that assist you with attacking enemies. The best part about this game is the largely varied upgrades and equipment. Creating storm cyclones or freezing enemies with ice attacks make for some great fun. Mixing and matching these powers makes each play session a different experience.
What Made You So Unhappy?
Unhappy Raccoon comes with a great amount of action to keep you playing and the graphics are stylish but this is not enough to cover up the game’s flaws. While the game is free-to-play, there are many weapons and heroes that can only be unlocked through in-app purchases. Purchasable heroes come with character skins, which offer special abilities that default heroes don’t possess. Unfortunately for the player, the full game experience is not able to be enjoyed without some purchases.
At first look, the top-down graphics seem decent enough. However, when you zoom in on your hero and get a better look at the character model, it looks rough around the edges. I’m not sure if this was an intentional stylistic design choice by developer XD Network, but the character models look unpolished. Some of the game menus extend beyond the limits of your phone screen which can be frustrating. Additionally, the controls are a little finicky. On multiple occasions, I had trouble pointing my hero at enemies to attack.
Final Comments
Unhappy Raccoon is interesting enough to download and play if you are able to look past the game’s flaws. If you enjoy a good button masher action game then give this game a try. However, the game feels repetitive and grindy overall. You may at least find some happiness in watching your companion raccoons beat the piss out of your enemies.
