Tamiku

Who didn’t love balloons when they were younger? They can provide endless amounts of fun until the air inside, gradually withers away. I remember spending so much time trying to keep them from hitting the floor as part of a game. But there was one thing that was weirdly satisfying about balloons…popping them. Just like with bubble wrap, it was only a matter of time until the dying urge to burst the balloon became too much. It’s no wonder then that Tamiku, developed by Josyan and published by Ratalaika Games, is a game that takes this idea and runs with it.

Tamiku is a 2D title that comes from the hand of Ratalaika Games and that draws on great classics of the 80s making us remember the years in arcade creating a joyful feeling of nostalgia.

Tamiku is the typical game that falls easily into oblivion as soon as the player gets tired of it, having completed it or not. Although the game is almost flawless, the gameplay is too modern to evoke a nostalgia feeling and its high difficulty is more frustrating that encouraging.

If you like your old-style arcade games from the ’80s Tamiku is well worth picking up. Simple but challenging gameplay and a crazy cute character with a weird fetish for popping balloons makes this an arcade game worth sinking some time into. Though I will say I won’t be looking at balloons the same way for a while.

Tamiku is a modern arcade-style game with a rather charming presentation but ultimately the gameplay may be a bit too simple for some, especially given that the difficulty curve may scare away anyone who's never handled a joystick. If you're looking for an inexpensive and challenging arcade experience, Tamiku may scratch your particular itch.

Those who have been playing video games for as long as I have will adore what Tamiku has to offer. From its charming visuals to its brilliant arcade-style gameplay, I highly recommend it to any old-school arcade game enthusiast.

Tamiku easily nailed all the sweet spots I look for in a scorechaser: addictive gameplay loops, simple controls, trial and error, it’s all here, and Tamiku does a godly job with it all, to the point I honestly believe this could be made into a NES homebrew game due to just how authentic it feels! The only real gripes I have with Tamiku are a few: one being that I do wish the game would have an endless, randomized mode that would shuffle the order of stages around, and the other being that the lack of online leaderboards is a real shame, especially due to how this game’s practically screaming for them.

I have a great reverence for classic arcade games (as you may have gathered by now) so from the get-go seeing Tamiku open with a classic ROM boot-up screen of sorts hit me right in the nostalgia bone...