The PS2-era platformer is reborn with Akimbot and its mind-boggling array of colorful weapons

If you yearn for the days of colorful, mascot-era platformers but don't know where you left that spare PS2 memory card, action-adventure game Akimbot is just the thing to pluck at your nostalgia.

In Akimbot, you take on the role as partners in crime, Exe and Shipset. Evoking the chaotic double-acts of icons like Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank, these two outlaw robots are making their way across the galaxy to thwart the plans of mad scientist Evilware. If that sounds like a pretty big challenge already, you've only heard the start of it - the pair will also have to contend with the intergalactic war that Evilware's efforts propel them into.

Thankfully, these unlikely heroes have plenty of tools to help them fight their way out of trouble. From punchy bullet-spitting miniguns to rocket launchers to massive lasers to…massive lasers mounted on the head of a giant robot dinosaur, you'll never be short of firepower.

As you earn botcoins by wreaking havoc on the environments around you, you'll be able to buy and mod special weapons; whether you prefer to dual wield the Akimbos, fire devastating nano-particles with the nano turbine or melt bots with the acid thrower, you’ll find the perfect weapon to suit your style.

It's not all massive explosions, of course. Like any great 3D platformer, Akimbot will test your skills in the air, thanks in no small part to Exe's grappling hook and their wall-running skills. And you'll also test your skills behind a variety of wheels: if that dinosaur wasn't impressive enough, how about a straight-up tank? That might sound like overkill, but in your attempt to take down Evilware, you'll come up across plenty of foes that boast even more impressive arsenals than your own.

Akimbot, from developer Evil Raptor and publisher Plaion, is out now, available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, as well as PC via Steam, where you can pick it up for the low price of just $19.99. And if you're somehow still not convinced, you can check out the Akimbot launch