Ayo the clown is a simple 2D platforming that resembles the early Super Mario games found in the early days. Throughout the game, the players get control of Ayo, a small clown with the goal of rescuing his dog, by running through the levels.
The game has a hub world with different areas that represent the playable levels. All levels on the map are placed within their own biomes representing their design(farm/cotton candy). The players are also given the option to fast travel between biomes given
they completely clear the area. One of the locations represents the city where Ayo can meet other Npcs and interact with them. After a certain point, interacting with the heroes will give Ayo a side quest/mission that will add to the 100% completion of
the game.
The gameplay is simple.
The player moves around in a 2D linear world in order to reach the ending of a given level. Simply moving from left to right will eventually reach the end of the level. The game begins by giving the player little to none skills but it progressively adds new abilities. To some this might be a deal breaker but
if you accept it you re in for a small treat. Whilst you progress through the game Ayo learns how to jump and how to even reach higher areas using a balloon. To defeat enemies at first you have to jump on them. Furthermore Ayo unlocks abilities such as headbutt, slide, wall jumb and climb which can use in combat and for
manuvering abilities. Within the levels the players can find a squeaky hammer, a balloon sword and water ablloons which can be used againts enemies. These weapons will dissappear if the player gets hit even once. Through out the levels there are checkpoints that will throw a pie on Ayo's face. If the players die by falling to their
doom or by being hit by the enemies they will spawn back to them.
At the end of each biome there is a boss battle that will try to test the players skills. The bosses designs are based of from their area which is a nice addition to the game. Each boss similar to other platforming games require the player to hit them atleast 3 times. In order to
hit the enemies the players will have to avoid the attack pattern of the boss before making their move towards them.
The game has only two types of collectables. Lolipops and teddy bears. Usually its level is hiding three of each and its up to the player to go out of their way to find where these items are placed. Some of them are in obvious places whilst others are hidden or require some platforming skill from the player in order to succesfully find them.
Level design and overall graphics is where the team got very creative. Each area is represented with its own style, whether you re at the circus, at a candy land or even at a toy area everything feels unique and has its own design of NPCs. This is a great addition
because usually developers dont go out of their way to create multiple NPCs and they simply swap their colours. The art style is very simplistic and childish which only adds to its overall charm. In candy land Ayo has to avoid giant gingerbread men who work out, avoid being hits from muffins
and jump through giant Donuts. In a farm like area, Ayo jumps on pigs, sunflowers and cows. Creativity is shown thoughout this little game. The passive NPCs also hav unique looks based on their identity and their proffession. In addition what other games allows you to wear a giant boot with eyes
on the head that resembles a dinosaur who shoots fire from its mouth. None. What other game's checkpoints have a pie throwing at your face. None again. Last but least the story papers with the crayon art design show that the studio really enjoyed making this game.
The Audio department on the other hand i cant say they did something amazing or memorable but it has a charming relaxing music. The songs differ from area to area but fail to be memorable at the end of the game. Voice acting is just cute noises being heard at the start of the dialog or whilst in action
such as jumping or attacking. The only voice actor that delivers lines is the narrator who i cant say did a great job as most of the times i found him annoying. Then again the way he delivers his lines is close to the ones found in online videos and kids shows so i guess he did what he had to do.
Overall this is a commentable effort from Cloud M1 since its a good project that shows the love that went into it from its developers. The games characters an settings are unique and charming. The game combines 3D objects on 2D drawn backgrounds whose combination looks good. The music department is not as present throughout the game but i never complaint about it during my run with th game. In terms of gameplay, the game does nothing to differentiate from other titles of its genre and it also feels like it went too safe with what controls it gives to the player. That is not to say that the game doesnt have unique elements but for what it's worth it delivers. Overall it is an enjoyable game with a good price tag that will deliver a short but fun time.