Tanuki Sunset Review (Xbox One)

STAFF REVIEW of Tanuki Sunset (Xbox One)

Wednesday, November 30, 2022.
by Peggy Doyle

Skateboarding Racoon. That was all I had to know before grabbing Tanuki Sunset to review. Developed by the Canadian coders at Rewind Games, Tanuki Sunset is a third person longboarding game with a synthwave aesthetic. It’s a mild twist on the endless runner genre and was originally released on Steam and itch.io earlier this year. You can now play it on console.

A tanuki is a Japanese racoon dog, similar enough for people to think it’s a racoon like I did first upon seeing the trailers. Your sole job is to master the art of longboarding, not an easy task when the roads throughout Sunset Island are full of obstructions, twists and turns. You play as the titular Tanuki, a radical ‘raccoon’ with big dreams to be on the cover of FISH magazine. In order to do this, you must make it through Sunset Island’s three main areas and make it to the fabled ‘Big Ramp’. I promise to try and not use too many 80's slang references, but I couldn’t resist one use of radical. Thank you for not rolling your eyes so loud so that I could hear you.

Gameplay for Tanuki Sunset is very straightforward. Control your longboard with the left analog stick, both speed and direction. You can drift using the 'X' button, also learn to do spins and tricks. The objective is to get down the tracks as fast and as stylish as possible. Drifts, jumps, flips, grabs and near misses all accumulate points. Although the controls are simple in design, they do require some practice to learn and master. The tracks in Tanuki Sunset are all randomly generated within the levels, and each will have checkpoints within them.

If you fall off a track, you will start at the closest checkpoint you completed. This sounds like it would be great, but I found it slightly aggravating because the checkpoints are quite far apart from one another, meaning you could spend numerous attempts at times to complete certain sections. It’s not like practice can make you necessarily better either. Since the tracks are randomly generated, they are never the same after you crash into a car or fall off the side of the raised track. For this reason, I found the game a lot more stressful than it should be for a game based on chill beats and a laid-back vibe.

Players collect ‘bits’ as they maneuver through the game. You can use these bits between levels to buy cosmetics at Bob’s Skate Shop. Bob is a sloth and his shop acts as your base of operations. You can wander around the store buying longboard cosmetics from him, like wheels, trucks and skins. The shop also has an arcade cabinet where you can take part in ‘trials’ to pit your skills in speed, jumps etc against others. There is also another NPC selling wardrobe cosmetics like shirts, helmets, sunglasses and even ‘walkdudes’ that you wear on your hip to listen to your music. All the colours and styles are pulled directly from the 80's boarding culture. Don’t forget to pet Dio the dog in the shop. It’s a small room, just a shop with not a lot to explore. As you complete objectives, or pass time trials, you’ll earn stickers from the levels.

Speaking of music, the soundtrack in Tanuki Sunset is Tanuki Sunset’s best feature in my opinion. While the games visuals feature a vaporware aesthetic, the soundtrack is a collection of Lo-Fi beats and tunes. Every track was great, I wish there were more of them as I heard the same few songs frequently while playing. The soundtrack even has the sound of swapping cassettes between songs. Would love to see the soundtrack available for purchase eventually. Graphically, Tanuki Sunset has low-poly graphics that are like a comic book brought to life. The game even has a photo mode. Trying to pull off a trick and using photo mode was really tricky, but I was successful a handful of time.

I had a few dislikes about Tanuki Sunset. First, although the game was an easy one to pick up and put down. There was no ‘options’ button/tab/menu to remind you what the controls were. Since I’m someone that jumps from game to game - both for reviewing and personal gaming, a reminder of the control functions would be appreciated, or at least somewhere to open and see them. Second, I see nothing for accessibility options. No way to change camera controls, blur, or button mapping. Third, the steering and drifting is far too sensitive to feel like you have any control, and using steering and braking on the same stick caused me to have some joint pain in my thumbs. I would have appreciated the button mapping and sensitivity adjustments here. Lastly, there is a lack of tricks, but since this is more of a speed/dodge game than a skateboarding game, I guess it makes sense.

Finishing the 3-4 hour long story mode unlocks an ‘endless’ mode that adds to the potential longevity of the game. I would have loved to see more upgrades available for your boards, more trick options and difficulty settings would have also been appreciated as I could see that youngers gamers would really like this style of game, but the frustration level could be pretty high for them when it’s so easy to fall with the current controls.

While more tricks and options would have made Tanuki Sunset more enjoyable, if you’re looking for something chill to occupy your time, or as a palate cleanser between games, I’d recommend this indie title, even just for the soundtrack.

**Tanuki Sunset was provided by the publisher and reviewed on an Xbox Series X**

Overall: 7.0 / 10
Gameplay: 6.5 / 10
Visuals: 7.0 / 10
Sound: 8.0 / 10

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STAFF REVIEW of Tanuki Sunset (Xbox One)

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