Developed by Games Starter and published by Ratalaika Games, Flat Kingdom Paper’s Cut Edition is a 2D platformer that features rock, paper, scissors inspired gameplay mechanic. Featuring a beautiful world made of paper, the game takes a unique take on how it handles combat and how shapes can be used to solve puzzles and clear platforming sections. This is our review of Flat Kingdom Paper’s Cut Edition in which we use a circle to defeat a square and a triangle to defeat a circle.
The story of the game is set in the Flat Kingdom which is essentially a 2D world made up of paper. Everyone is living happily in the world until a thief who goes by the name of Hex or Shadow Born, decides to snatch King Square’s daughter and take one of the jewels required to keep the world in its place. With the jewel gone, the 2D world is about to go 3D and the king cannot allow this. At this point, you jump into the story as Flat, a noble knight who is tasked by the king to recover his daughter from her captives and also restore the world balance. By looking at him, Flat appears to be a pretty small knight when compared to the king’s other soldiers however Flat is hiding one secret.
Flat is able to change his shape according to the situational requirement. This game on a PlayStation controller makes perfect sense because Flat is able to change into a Circle, Square, or Triangle which are essentially the keys of the controller but sadly these shapes are not linked to these keys. With the press of a button, you can change Flat’s shape into a Square, Circle, or Triangle and solve puzzles and defeat enemies on the go with this mechanic. Flat Kingdom Paper’s Cut Edition is a 2D puzzle-solving platformer at its core so there are plenty of puzzles for you to solve and there is plenty of platforming to do in the game as well.
The gameplay basically takes its inspiration from rock, paper, and scissors as each shape in the game is weaker against another shape and stronger against another shape. Circle beats square, triangle beats circle, and square beats triangle. Using this formula, you basically have to beat enemies and solve various puzzles in the game. Bosses take this same formula as you switch shapes to avoid their attacks and use them to your own advantage. The enemies that you find in the world are all comprised of various shapes. Playing on lower difficulties marks their shape as well so you can simply change to their opposing shape and defeat them.
You can quickly change your shape by pressing the desired button and sometimes you will need to get creative to defeat some enemies as well. For example, the beehives are located high, and you have to jump to reach them. They are vulnerable to triangles so you must double jump using the round shape and once in the air, you can quickly change shape to Triangle and kill the beehive. Similarly, certain enemies require two shapes to defeat as well where one shape stuns them, and another shape finishes them off properly. The same is the case with bosses where you have to quickly change shapes to avoid their attacks and then use the appropriate shape to damage them using the environment.
Once you have cleared a level, you then come across a boss which you have to defeat in order to unlock a new skill for a particular shape. Each of the three shapes has three skills. One of them is unlocked right from the start but you have to unlock the remaining ones by defeating bosses and progressing in the main story. Once unlocked, you can use these skills to progress in the game as certain skills are vital for progression beyond a certain level. Some of the boss battles in the game are really cool however I was left unimpressed with some of them. The very first boss of the game has a tendency to become glitched as it goes into a never-stopping attack phase and does not give you an opportunity to attack.
I was able to break the game and glitch past it, but I missed its trophy and also its associated skill. The rest of the bosses in the game were fine however the first boss can break the game sometimes. Apart from fighting enemies, you also use the shape-shifting mechanic to overcome various obstacles during the platforming sections. While you are not fighting enemies or bosses in the game, you are busy navigating the treacherous pathways and platforming sections of the game. Puzzles are not too hard, and they are not that obvious either. Most of the sections are simply difficult platforming sections that you must complete with the help of a combination of different shapes in the game.
The platforming falls short as well when combined with other gameplay mechanics. The shape changes are not that smooth, and it demands pin-point accuracy when it comes to jumps and changing shapes. The jumps barely cover some of the gaps in the game and it is made difficult for no obvious reason. The Square shape can push blocks, break blocks to open way, and do all the heavy stuff while the Triangle is all about agility and speed. The circle shape is about movement and ease of getting around but when you have to combine them together, the game falls short in this department.
There were many instances in the game where I was trying to complete a certain task such as using a blowball to jump a huge gap but changing the shapes in the middle and then for the final jump was not smooth just because the platforming mechanics are not that silky to execute. Flat falls short in many different ways in this regard. Even after unlocking all of the skills, the platforming is still not up to the mark. I would have loved that if it was a little tighter and silkier. It would have made this a perfect game however with the PC release over a year ago, the developers have not really tightened up the controls, so I guess the platforming mechanics are staying the same.
To sturdy yourself up, you can purchase additional hearts from the heart vendor which is found at the start of every level. The story does not take that long to complete with its 6 levels and 9 chapters to complete but if you want to collect all of the gold coins in all of the levels, your completion time will be increased considerably. Each level has plenty of hidden secrets such as coins and scrolls that you can find after revisiting the levels from the world menu. You also have a handy journal that keeps records of everything that you have seen in the world such as enemies, characters, levels, notes about the world, and much more. The game is also an easy platinum and the PS4 version comes with the PS5 version so you can platinum the game twice pretty easily.
Coming to the world of Flat Kingdom, I loved the level design and how lively the levels felt. Each level has its own charm, and all are made of paper, they look really bright and colorful. Some of the darker areas feel a little bland but the colorful areas and landscapes looked amazing. The world design looks somewhat like a hybrid between Yoshi’s Crafted World and Tearaway, but it has its own charm. The soundtrack fits into the game and the overall sound design is really good. The game is free of any sort of bugs and glitches as well. However, the game does not use any of DualSense’s advanced features which is a bit of a letdown. It is a great-looking 2D platforming, but I would love it if the platforming becomes a little tighter.
Final Verdict:
I really wanted to love Flat Kingdom Paper’s Cut Edition but the more time I spent with the game, the more I started to dislike its clunky platforming. The game levels are brilliantly designed, and I like how they actually feel alive as they are filled with NPCs, and you can interact with them for a humorous quote, but the game seriously falls short when it comes to platforming and gameplay. The rock, paper, scissors inspired gameplay is pretty cool but other than that, the platforming and the boss battles are not enjoyable. If you really have to play it, the game has decent exploration, and the level design is really good with beautiful visuals. Other than that, there is not much to be enjoyed here when it comes to gameplay.
Final Score: 7.0/10
