Funko Fusion - MAJOR UPDATE

Quality of Life Update #1 - Less Hard, Faster, Better, Stronger

Funko Fusion - The one true investment

Yes, you read that right.

There IS such a thing as a good investment in the name of Funko!

Now before you scoff and label me a box-hoarding speculator with questionable sanity, allow me to explain further.

It has functional value!

Many had given up hope, many had shed tears, but at last,

the Funko brand has spread it's wings, and left the dusty closet of sunken costs damning it's most avid collectors.

Forget about tacky and thoughtless cash grabs, the days of Snowman Captain America Funko Pops are behind us (I can only hope).

Today is a new dawn, where brand deals and competent creative license has left us a much more tasteful legacy.

We as consumers, are no strangers to the thoughtless implementation of franchised characters into major game titles, without much care for anything else bar profit.

I do not claim this any different, however I would be remiss to ignore the actual seeded effort that has been put into the beginnings of a new perspective on Funko-related endeavours.

You get what you pay for.

Every brand, show or game that you can immerse yourself into, becomes a floor on the spire, a whole game world, with several levels.

This isn't a simple skin you buy in the shop for that extra flair.

This is actual content, effort, and catered experiences lending homage to the titles they sprouted from. You are dropped into their worlds, their characters, and their unique variations of puzzles and mechanics.

Let's address the Lego-phant in the room.(sorry)

If you have ever played any Lego game, you might recognise a very similar formula to those implemented in hit titles such as Lego Star Wars.

But please, don't be disheartened, as this in the end, is of benefit.

The line between derivative and transformative can often blur; I believe that the dev team has succeeded in crossing over into its own comfortable identity, while also intergrating the fundamental aspects that made the Lego Saga as groundbreaking and influential as they are.

You can play and swap between different characters, not limited to those of the universe that you currently inhabit. As a matter of fact, in order to access secret or bonus areas, you actually need to strategise and mix and match your crew.

It also borrows from the multiplayer oriented pve puzzle and combat design, as well as being completely flexible to a singleplayer playthrough. For now, only singleplayer is available, but the devs have been hopeful about implementing play with friends functionality on all current titles by November.

As for the narrative concept, it has its home in the limbo between stories, as you jump between universes saving them and growing from them.

It is a format seen in many implementations of what is essentially fairy tale hopping, like in the Lego movie, Wreck it Ralph and many more.

The justification for the bridge between the Jurassic and Toronto can be inferred to be the Wonderworks factory, the birthplace of Funko people perhaps; a place soon besieged by the greed of evil, splitting the crown among the different realms as a result of the conflict.

This has created, by design, a Funko Pop universe—one that actually has merit in existing. Retroactively, it has also provided a foundation for the multidisciplinary brand mashup of Funko Pops, establishing its own kingdom that lies between realms. In other words, it has spawned an origin for the Funko people, who are no longer limited to poly-plastic models of whatever trend is at the forefront but now inhabit their own unique world and legacy.

So what about the experience? How well does it hold up to its concept?

Well, for one, the graphics are more than satisfactory; in fact, as is often the case today, perhaps even too "good".

I ran everything on low settings, and I must say, it didn't feel low-quality at all; if anything, my occasionally haemorrhaging FPS suggested otherwise.

Surely, an Nvidia 2060 RTX couldn't be outdated so soon, right?

Putting aside my existential dread from the ever-growing speed of technology...

The music bops, the themes rock, and the Funko—Pops!

Every little detail, from abilities, to colour palettes, it's the whole package.

The props and structures, go beyond colour matching their brand, every world is handcrafted to the setting and traits of their story.

I was absolutely enamoured with the design of Masters of the Universe; it is not just a re-skin, it's a full on graphic redesign on the standard Funko look, and you will find that attention to detail catered to, in every separate iteration of a franchise.

Yet there are couple things left to be desired, not all utility or weaponry is molded to their character, and can at times feel less specific than hoped to the encompassing theme.

I will warn, that some levels and puzzles can be quite challenging at times, sometimes due to lack of direction or lack of signalling. The requisites for certain elements like cameo doors, level progression and general objectives lack in clarity and could do with a stronger guiding hand. Difficulty should arise from skill, not confusion.

At the end of the day, the game's target audience is mainly children, so you can expect the narrative complexity and comedy to fall in line with that demographic. The story progression lacks in fluidity and logicality at times, which can leave one at odds with the transition between worlds, feeling isolated and disconnected from one another as you simply become another character. Again, you can turn into whoever, but the lack of dialogue or objective oriented recall back to the "spire"/ world select hub, can make the connection between the worlds lack in validity.

This is something we can see skillfully done in games like Super Mario Galaxy, where the "hub" Comet Observatory, is not just a transitory element, but has actual gameplay value, where the player can see changes reflected as they rescue Toads, and unlock new areas, as well as interact with the npcs that repopulate these empty areas.

But again, that is a harsh critique for a game where the focus isn't a compelling story, but a fun time with friends, and in that regard there is little I can quip about.

It's fun, it's cute and if you are like me and never "grew out" of genres like Mario, Zelda or Lego games, this is for you.

I would definitely advise playing with friends, as the experience is better fitted to a more team based approach.

But of course...

Graphics don't mean everything, if the last couple years has taught us anything about triple A-flops, it is that consumers don't care nor want to run 8k puddle reflections; we want, engaging, fun-to-play experiences, that are actually compelling to play!

(and don't require 100GB and a jet engine to run a Ray tracing heap of garbage with no substance.)

Here's what you need to know:

•  Size: 42GB
•  Average FPS: 60 on RTX 2060 (Mobile) on Low settings
•  Graphics: Appealing even on Low settings
•  Pop-ins issues: The occasional transition or area loading might have a staggered load resulting in a temporary "x-ray vision"
•  Lack of optimization for PC

Not the worst stats, however there are 2 things I have to expand on regarding the PC experience, that any prospective buyer must take into consideration.

• The entire settings menu is practically inaccessible, it does not respond well to inputs and they cannot be altered almost in their entirety. As a result you are stuck with what you get; in my case, that was low settings on everything.
• The keybinds are quite nonsensical at times. For example, rolling/special ability is assigned to [B], and normally, that is a simple remapping fix and back to gaming; however as mentioned before, that is an impossibility.

This is warned on the steam page, strongly recommending a controller.

Of course as a PC user, I find that to be a big misstep and can only hope that they roll out better support and mappings for us in the future.

I am not too worried however, as we have seen a positive outreach by the developing team fighting back against stagnation with the very update this review is built upon.

Quality of Life Update #1 - Less Hard, Faster, Better, Stronger

I cannot judge its previous state as I had not ventured into the title at that time, however based on the Mixed reviews, they certainly didn't have the dreamlike launch many devs strive for.

If anything, they were met with the industry dreaded sin of an early and unpolished release, infested with bugs and amputated content.

As is the great blight of corporate deadlines and mismanagement, it could have extended itself further into an early grave with its lack of support and eventual closure.

But instead, the updates started rolling out, and we saw action being taken, actual dedication and passion behind the project to truly give the game a fighting chance.

All in all a positive outlook for the hard working people at 10:10 Games and the potential expandability into a full blown Funko Pop-verse.

Some final remarks

At the time of writing this review, I have put in several hours into the game, and still have plenty of content left to enjoy.

Granted, I like to take my time and am a bit of a completionist as far as collectables go, so my pace is no real benchmark for those seeking to speedrun. Each floor has approximately 5 levels as well as multiple additional cameo levels, not to mention some levels have secret areas accessible only upon meeting certain conditions. As for how many floors, heck I've yet to reach the bottom!

But...

Who asked for a Funko game?

It would come to no surprise to me that no one was holding their breath in anticipation for a digital Funko experience. But is there merit and worth in this project? Absolutely.

This game may not be what anyone had on their Wishlist, nor expected, yet I can warmly say that it stands on its own as a genuine and fandom friendly product.

If you were searching for a cute and fun game to play with friends, or to relive famous themes like Jurassic Park or Scott Pilgrim vs the world, while embodying big-headed versions of the characters, this is for you.

If there is one thing you take away from this, let it be the passion and respect that the team over at 10:10 Games have poured into their creative yet faithful takes on the well loved franchises in this game.