Little Deviants Review

By Kevin Mitchell  |  Posted: March 28, 2012

If you were wondering about a game that forces you to use the PlayStation Vita's alternate control methods without ever touching the analog sticks or face buttons, Little Deviants is for you. Much like the Welcome Park app included with every Vita, Little Deviants sets out to explore the various control methods the PS Vita brings to the table as you help cute little critters across 30 different mini-games.

The game opens with the Deviants' mortal enemy, the Botz, shooting down the Deviants' spaceship. As the spaceship explodes and crashes on a strange world, it's up to you to rebuild it and help the Deviants get off that rock. There are three medals to collect in each mini-game: bronze, silver, and gold. To move on to the next mini-game, you're required to hit at least the bronze marker.

As mentioned at the beginning of the review, the game relies solely on touch and motion controls, so if you don't care for them, this game isn't for you. The shoulder buttons are used during some mini-games, but those are the only buttons you'll ever press. Whether the controls work or not really depends on the games themselves; some work well, but there are a few that boggle the mind as to why the controls simply don't work, or work worse than others. The first mini-game is probably the worst in the entire game. It requires you to use the rear touchpad to manipulate the environment to push the Deviant, who is in a ball, across the land and collect the key to open the gate to the next area. While this doesn't sound too complex, the use of the rear touchpad is borderline horrendous and results in getting hit more often than you should.

One of the better mini-games has you shooting the Botz in spaceships as they try to take the Deviants through portals. This is presented as an AR game as you shoot everything flying around your living room, office, or wherever you're playing. Doing this in public proved to be much more difficult, as the Botz can travel in a full 360 degrees, which essentially forces you to do a complete 180. Sitting on a commuter train in the morning is definitely not the best place to play this game. Herein lies the fault with many of the mini-games, as it's better to play them at home than on the go. Some games require very precise movements, while the same motion in another mini-game may require you to turn the device 90 degrees.

The game uses a vivid color palette that makes everything pop, but nothing in particular will make you say "wow." The color and charm are there, but technically it's not a very pleasing game. However, in this type of game, it works and doesn't need to be a powerhouse. The music can be catchy and the sound effects suffice, but nothing truly stands out.

Multiplayer is nowhere to be seen in the game, but it does come with online leaderboards to compete against your friends. While this will add some replayability, nothing will trump being able to go against each other online. There are collectibles hidden throughout which you can view in an interactive cat gallery, I mean art gallery. That's right! You can collect blocky-headed cats, or moggles, throughout and view them in portraits in a gallery. Tapping on the gallery will lead to them jumping out of their portrait, which is all presented very well, but it's just an odd set of things to collect. Besides all of that, there are your own stats to keep track of: how far you have rolled or how many times you have bounced the Deviants around.

Simply Put

As with all mini-game focused games, it's best to play Little Deviants in small doses. Maybe in between sessions of other games or while waiting for something to download from the PS Store. The game has plenty of cuteness, but beyond the 30 mini-games, some of which repeat just on different maps, Little Deviants will slowly fade back into your library once you've had enough of it.