Beautiful Katamari is the latest in a series of games which often come up in discussions about whether video games are art. Its deceptively simple premise focuses on a cosmic king trying to repair the universe by directing princes and princesses to roll items up in a ball to make stars, planets and moons. Players begin with a small katamari and can roll up small objects like toothpicks and coins. As the game progresses, the katamari become larger and can pick up larger objects.

It is critical to note that Beautiful Katamari is an exceptionally difficult game with no apparent way to change difficulty settings. All levels are timed and players will have to rush through levels to move on to the next one. While a tutorial level exists, it seems insufficient to prepare players for the challenges they will face passing even the first level. Furthermore, failing a level causes the game to berate players for their ineptitude and inability to perform the assigned task. With all of that in mind, and considering how difficult it is to find and how expensive used copies can be, players should be wary of this game.

Accessibility Issues / Concerns

The most important accessibility issue in Beautiful Katamari is the use of both sticks to move the katamari. Gamers with use of only one hand will experience difficulties because both sticks must be pushed in the same direction at the same time to move the katamari backward, forward or to the side. Gamers with motor function concerns should avoid this game entirely – each level is timed and completing the level within the time allowed is incredibly hard. The smallest misstep can cause items to fall off the katamari and ensure failure, even moments into a level. Considering that levels offer more time and require larger katamari as players advance, the frustration of almost completing a level will only increase as the game progresses.

Deaf players should not experience many, if any, issues with this game. Game instructions are provided on-screen in a letterbox using a large font that is easily readable. While an alarm sounds near the end of a level, the remaining time is also displayed on-screen, so the audio alert has a visual representation for deaf gamers.

Likewise, gamers with a form of color blindness should experience few, if any, issues. Beautiful Katamari does not seem to use red and green or blue and yellow for meaning. While some objects may be red or green, all the player needs to do with them is roll them up.

Beautiful Katamari automatically saves progress, if any.

At A Glance

Precision: Recommend rating of 0 out of 10.
This game requires extreme precision and dexterity to successfully complete challenges in the time allowed and even then, levels are exceptionally difficult to complete.

Deaf Gamers: Recommend rating of 10 out of 10.
Audio alerts are represented on the screen. The game does not use voice-overs and presents all instructions as text.

One-handed: Recommend rating of 0 out of 10.
The game requires players to move both sticks in the same direction to move. Gamers with use of only one hand should be very wary.

Subtitled: Recommend rating of 10 out of 10.
The game’s subtitles use a large font with letterboxing. The subtitles are readable and legible. Audio alerts appear on-screen.

Color Blind: Recommend rating of 10 out of 10.
The game does not seem to use red and green or blue and yellow for meaning.

Checkpoint / Save System: Recommend rating of 10 out of 10.
If the player completes an objective, the game automatically saves progress.