We Love Katamari Reroll review: Rolling out the red carpet

It has always seemed strange to me that the first Katamari game to receive a worldwide release was its sequel - a game so intrinsically tied to your pre-existing knowledge and love of the first that even its name holds a rather presumptuous opinion.

How could we possibly know that we love Katamari if we've never had the chance to play it? This was certainly the case for me, as I approached, played, and fell in love with We Love Katamari before I had experienced the first game. But now with the remaster, I've had the chance to place myself within the plaza as one of the Prince's adoring fans.

Katamari confusion

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The premise of the Katamari series is rather simple: you're a little guy rolling around a ball, and your job is to grow the ball as big as you possibly can within a time limit. You can't pick up everything from the start, as you must start small and slowly grow your Katamari until it can engulf far more than you could even imagine.

While the first game took that premise and placed you in a number of exciting scenarios and locales, We Love Katamari takes it to pretty much everywhere that you could think to go and more, emerging as the gaming equivalent of a magician pulling a handkerchief out of their sleeve.

There are still plenty of levels within We Love Katamari that still follow the traditional time limit structure, but they'll take place within the most wonderful scenarios, from speeding around a race track to a dive underwater.

Beyond this, you'll encounter some of my favourite levels in any game that I've played. Each place you in extraordinary creative scenarios such as rolling up animals so that a lonely dog has some friends, barrelling a sumo wrestler into as much food as possible so they can gain weight, or pushing a giant snowball around a ski course to place on top of a snowman.

Rolling through the fourth wall

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From a structural perspective, We Love Katamari is also an outstanding meta-narrative - investigating the concept, form, and adoration of Katamari Damacy as a game. This is present from even the level select screen alone, as the former title's lonely planets and now transformed into a wonderfully populated plaza full of adoring fans.

Each level is not only informed by the in-game character's love of Katamari Damacy but also by your own recognition of the triumphs within the first game. The need to go bigger and better within a sequel is ever present, but in this rare case, you can actually apply those qualifiers quite literally.

We Love Katamari isn't simply just a game about rolling things up any more, it is about helping people out and making the world a better place. It just so happens that rolling thing up is still as enjoyable as ever - even nearly two decades after its initial release.

Just keep rolling rolling rolling rolling

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So much of the brilliance within We Love Katamari hinges upon feeling - the haptics of the controller as you barrel through a bundle of small objects, or the sensation of bombarding through a clustered room.

Part of this satisfaction comes from overcoming the challenge of the controls as well as the level itself, as you never quite feel in complete command of your directions in the game. I am overwhelmed that - much like Katamari Damacy Reroll - these have not been tampered with in We Love Katamari Reroll, but I can see it being a barrier to entry for some players who might feel as if they're fighting with the game.

New joys for the Prince

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There is also a selection of new content that has arrived with We Love Katamari Reroll, with new stages to attempt, a camera accessory, and some much-appreciated quality-of-life adjustments.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't slightly disappointed with the 'new' levels, as they amount to a reframing of existing stages within the game. However, they still offered a new challenge to undertake, and the Katamari series has always excelled at creating new ideas within pre-existing spaces.

While not a massive addition, many players will be delighted to see that a camera has made its way into the remaster - if not just for the opportunity to take selfies at any point in time. There is just something so whimsical about whipping out the camera in the middle of wide-scale destruction, offering a great opportunity to share some of your favourite moments and locales with ease.

Furthermore, We Love Katamari Reroll has received a similar face-lift to the remaster of the first game, giving it a wonderfully fresh coat of paint while still preserving the charming art style of the original. It is still a little disappointing to see a fair amount of graphical pop-in at many points, but there is often so much on the screen at any one time that it is relatively easy to ignore.

The verdict

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We Love Katamari is still one of the most inventive games I've ever played, with new tricks constantly up its sleeve that keep things evolving even when you think that there are no jokes left to tell.

It is also a game full of so much heart - which is unsurprising for a game that supplants love for a heart symbol in its own title. It is full of adoration for the world, its people, and its own legacy that is just so captivating to play. Never before has a game's own title felt so true.

4.5/5

Reviewed on PlayStation 5. Review code provided by the publisher.