Bonkies

Norwegian game developers Studio Gauntlet have just released Bonkies, a couch co-op party game where you take on the role of monkey astronauts (and other unlockable animals) to build on other planets. Travel through each planet, building all of the structures required to unlock new Bonkies as well as progress to the next planet and meet a variety of characters (including a clear homage to Elon Musk!)

With Solo and Co-op modes available, it works well in both. Co-op is definitely the main focus of Bonkies, it recommends playing with friends upon startup, and the menu has Co-op as the first option, rather than Solo. It’s great to see a game built with co-op first still having a solo mode available, without it feeling like it has just been tacked on. Solo can have extra players join, which definitely confused us for a second, but they are only to serve as a hindrance or as a leaning post to support structures for a bit - not to help you actually move the blocks. Being a physics-based puzzle game, there’s a bit of brainpower needed so having a bunch of different players working co-operatively is both a blessing and a curse. There’s more people, so you can work pretty efficiently, but on the flip side of that - it can be far more problematic if you can’t guide each other well to get the job done.

Thankfully the controls are very easy to pick up, with one big articulated arm that you’ll use to grab various building materials and carefully - or not so carefully, if you’re trying to pull off some trick shots - place the blocks into position. Different blocks are available as you progress through the levels, from standard blocks, to breakable glass blocks, all the way through to exploding blocks that will combust if you hold them for too long, and magnet-blocks to hold scaffolding in place to help with your builds.

It’s refreshing to play a party game that has everyone work together instead of pitting you against each other, especially with the level of communication required to build the specified structures. Some construction materials are too heavy for one Bonkie to carry alone, so ensuring you all work well together is paramount to your success - especially if you’re trying to nab the bonus bananas for completing the level under a certain time. Flying around in your space suit feels satisfying, and successfully completing a build gives you a sense of achievement - and you can even high five your team-mates for doing well.

Visually, Bonkies has a simple but interesting art style, with varied locations of different planets - and a bunch of different playable characters, each with their own unique look. The bright colours of each construction suit helps to differentiate from all the players, as you’ll find yourself all too often just shouting out the colour of the player who needs a little bit of prompting. Even the level select screens are adorably designed, with each being the planet you’re on, that you can fly around in a little rocket - you can find new Bonkies to unlock, and all the levels to complete - with a banana counter for achieving all of the levels under the specified time. The soundtrack is well done, with a very mellow, space-y feel, that does well to keep you calm during tense moments as you wait for the countdown until a build completes.

There’s a lot of fun to be had in Bonkies between the challenge of placing certain parts down first to make sure that everything lines up, to dropping blocks carefully so as to avoid any potential destruction (a very strong possibility). It is so easy for things to go belly up fast, so you’ll have your adrenaline pumping as you get closer to the end on trickier builds, praying that disaster doesn’t strike. It definitely takes a bit of getting used to, but once you have the controls mastered then all you’ll have to worry about is your team. One wrong move and bye bye carefully constructed tower.

Priced at £12.99 on the Xbox Store, this is a sure-fire hit - especially if you’ve got a group to play with. The Solo Campaign itself is fun, but the co-op is where the game shines. Even the kids had a blast playing Bonkies, learning the controls easily and taking to the level instructions like a duck to water or a monkey to space. So if you’re looking for a new party game to play, then Bonkies just might be the game for you.

In the end, we decided to give Bonkies the Collecting Asylum rating of 9/10.

Have you played Bonkies yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!

- V x

Thank you to Crunching Koalas for the Bonkies Xbox review code!