5 Games That Will Make You Miss the Kinect

Gunstringer

Games That Will Make You Miss the Kinect

Now that production of the Kinect has ceased, there will be no more neophytes among those who had this “85% magic, 15% frustrating” experience. While it’s common to, quite reasonably, accuse the accessory of being laggy, spatially demanding, and just generally not living up to how it was advertised, it was still a loyal servant to fun and awkward dance-offs and greater immersion (voice commands in dialogues of Mass Effect 3 being just one example). Today, we say goodbye to a device that was supposed to become a game-changer with a list of games that made up for having to move the furniture and yell at your TV every once in a while, starting with Gunstringer.

Kinect games were usually focused on movement and rhythm rather than compelling stories and likable characters. Then came Gunstringer, with its humorous take on spaghetti westerns, speedy and silly run and gun action, and a charismatic protagonist who seems just the guy to unleash the Skeleton War. The controls were simple and intuitive and it didn’t require a lot of space for the sensor. It wasn’t just the action and design that made Gunstringer fun — the game puts you into a marionette play with an audience that reacts intelligently to your performance, cheering and booing at your story choices and how you stylishly deal with bad guys. And if you find too few enemies to your liking, there is a trigger-happy activity that has players taking down ducks.

This post was originally written by Olga Ivanova.

Fruit Ninja Kinect 2

Games That Will Make You Miss the Kinect

The sequel to the Xbox adaptation of a mobile game best-seller improved the IP significantly. Keeping the formula the same — slice fruits, don’t think too much (not that you have a lot of time for that), put up with a lack of precision — it featured new modes, a campaign, and a more motivating progression system. The Festival added more twitches to the standard blade rampage of Fruit Ninja, putting a specific focus into each four of its “chapters,” like having to dispose of falling bamboo seeds that, should you miss these, grow into fully developed sticks that need to be cut down.

The co-op was more varied too, inviting more people to play and compete in other ways than just the number of fruits chopped. There are downright annoying issues in multiplayer (like mixing up players or ignoring the exit command), but it is still a nice way to let your boiling hatred towards fruits take over whether you are a lone ninja or if you’re playing with a slice-up buddy.

Dance Central 3

Games That Will Make You Miss the Kinect

When it comes to story modes, music games aren’t really the genre that exploits it in a streamlined, enjoyable way. Dance Central 3, however, not only managed to pull a clean plot off, it went with an actually inventive one and successfully wrapped the dances, tunes, and character designs around it for greater immersion. Your job as a Dance Central Intelligence agent is to stop the evil mastermind Dr. Tan who passionately hates dancing and wants to destroy its spirit all over the globe.

While saving the world in an unconventional fashion, you will unlock new costumes, decipher era-defining dances and crack a nostalgic smile at older chart busters every now and then. Thanks to the tutorials, you will feel prepared for both the solo campaign and the kickass party mode. Hell, the game will potentially make you a future dance floor star because it’s just surprisingly good at teaching the moves and embedding them in your memory.

Fru

Games That Will Make You Miss the Kinect

While commemorating the Kinect, we could not leave this gem behind. Fru is the last title for Microsoft’s cam-and-mic device that goes beyond simply requiring it and feels like a fresh touch on the 2D platformer genre in general. In Fru, your silhouette becomes a part of the level design, helping a tiny charming heroine push through small, yet still challenging levels. Having your body shape projected onto the surroundings, you felt more like a part of a game itself, which is an aspect undeservedly neglected by game designers. Players would uncover hidden platforms, lead a little girl through the scenery like she’s a ghost and assume a lot of ridiculous postures. It masters the coherent style and encourages creative use of the environment with the clear meaningfulness of a player’s input. Lastly, the fact that, as a Kinect game, it escaped the fate of being a technical disaster makes one really appreciate Fru for merely existing.

Child of Eden

Games That Will Make You Miss the Kinect

Often deemed as a sequel to Rez, Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s Child of Eden is predominantly disappointing in terms of gameplay. Similarly to its 2001 agent of inspiration, Child of Eden takes you through stages — Archives — where you’re tasked to eliminate vile viruses, surrounded by chaotic pulsation of neon shapes. A certain extent of gaucherie is inevitably involved, but it stood out at the time thanks to Mizuguchi’s synesthetic design of the game’s ambience. It drowns you in a storm of colors like no dystopian movie littered by blinding signboards will, as the attack sounds create an sensory experience close to you actually honing the game’s soundtrack. Together, these features build a dense environment that is wholesome and visually gorgeous.

What are some of your favorite Kinect games? Sound off in the comments to express your infinite joy or heartful lament for the Kinect’s demise and share some titles that made your time with this device fun.