Ayo the Clown | PS4 Review

I present to you a cute, and crass clown collect-a-thon titled "Ayo the Clown" that's all about casual or competitive gameplay. Starring Ayo the clown himself, and a whole host of other colorful characters that look as if they were ripped straight from a children's story book. While the main man with the master plan that is Ayo is a happy-go-lucky kind of chap his sweet dreams are abruptly shattered as he finds his pet pooch lost or stolen upon awakening one night, and as such sets out on an adventure trying to find him. Along the way, and by helping others in need, he gains the tools to face frightening foes as he collects the treasures needed to make it where he needs to be. 

As Ayo the clown your world comes to vibrant life through still images of a storybook, and the 2.5D stages set on the point by point pathway before you. In making progress you'll collect gems dropped by lesser enemies or found along the beaten path as well as 6 items of interest per stage including 3 lollipops and 3 teddy bears which help you to perfect your playthrough for an ending alphabetical grade. Timed in a speedrun fashion, no less. The point to it all being to collect ten toys for your treasure chest, and eventually find your pet pal who has vanished like a fart in the wind. Between these objectives lies characters of interest who give fetch quests which, in turn, rewards Ayo with new abilities. Things like a head slam, double jump balloon, and basic jump being among them. These handy dandy mechanics helps Ayo not only to more easily pass through the puzzling platforming sections, but to apply the same mechanics to deeply realized boss battles. All in all you start off with only bare bones movement options, and work your way up to a full functioning clown. Sometimes even manning toy tanks to traverse trap laden terrain, and dispatch harder to defeat foes.

Stage by stage perfection is the key to 100% completing 'Ayo the clown', and earning all of the PSN trophies. This entails collecting all the hidden items, and gaining enough gems to spend back at the town vendors for mechanics upgrades. Things that enhance new abilities allowing for deeper exploration on the branching platforming stages. Even making backtracking viable in some cases as certain stages' hidden secrets come into play before the mechanic needed to fully complete the collect-a-thon at hand becomes available. At the end of each numerically assigned stage series with sub-stages included lies a boss battle, and it is that boss battle that offers a reprieve from the usual gameplay format. Not saying it ever grows dull though, because the platforming puzzles, and NPC focused sections vary enough to keep things interesting. 

In the way of gameplay "Ayo the Clown" is a nicely rendered, and almost claymation style of animated platforming challenge with light metroidvania elements. It's colorful as you'd expect such a game to be, and well narrated by an English speaking gentleman of the British variety. At times the art displayed is family friendly, and other times containing somewhat crude imagery. Comical, but crude. Talks of snot and slobber included. The soundtrack is also fitting of the game's premise, and includes a soundtrack that would fit in a child's educational cartoon. Even with it's childish features at play it's a competent, and challenging experience that even seasoned gamers will enjoy, and all for a budget price. 

The Verdict ...

Unless you have the fear of clowns in you, and are afraid Pennywise is going to make you float as you play, 'Ayo the Clown' will more than make for a mission of merriment for any gamer willing to give it a try. The really cool thing about it all is that it can be played casually or in a speedrun kind of way. It's properly challenging for something that appears so childish in nature, and though it does have a casual side it's still highly enjoyable. The boss fights, in particular, are superbly created with interesting patterns that really gives the player a run for their money. I'm not saying it's the most difficult experience, but it is challenging enough, and quite innovative/creative. As a game of the indie variety 'Ayo the Clown' is by far one of EastAsiaSoft's finest releases yet. Easily among the Double A titles of the indie scene, and that's nothing to scoff at considering it is an indie from a fledgling studio. It gets my seal of approval, and I have to say that I truly enjoyed this one. It's got a polished Super Mario Bros. vibe, and I dig it!