Roll Over Beethoven! 'Once Upon a Katamari' is Bringing the Weird Back to Nintendo (and it looks bloody brilliant)
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Nintendo's 'Once Upon a Katamari' is bringing back the series' signature weirdness with surreal levels and the same addictive gameplay, and IGN South Africa has the screenshots to prove it's going to be a gloriously chaotic ride.
Right, so Nintendo just dropped a whole cosmic load of screenshots for 'Once Upon a Katamari' during their July 2025 Nintendo Direct, and fair dinkum, it looks gloriously bonkers. Now, I know what you're thinking: another Katamari game? Haven't we rolled up enough random crap already? But stick with me, because this ain't your nan's Katamari.
IGN South Africa (cheers, mates!) snagged a peek at these beauties, and what's immediately apparent is the sheer visual inventiveness. We're talking landscapes that look like someone threw a kaleidoscope into a Dali painting and then ran it over with a steamroller. Expect the usual joyful chaos as you, the Prince, obediently follow the King of All Cosmos'… *ahem*…unique instructions to roll everything in sight into stars. Because, you know, cosmic balance and all that.
But what makes this Katamari different? Well, judging by the screenshots, the level design seems to have taken a turn for the surreal. We're seeing environments that defy gravity, logic, and possibly even the laws of physics. Think Escher meets Monty Python, with a dash of Japanese whimsy thrown in for good measure. And if that doesn't tickle your fancy, I don't know what will. Are they getting into Web3? Nah, the beauty of Katamari is its simplicity. Just pure, unadulterated, roll-everything-up joy.
The core gameplay loop remains the same: start small, roll up pins and paperclips, and gradually escalate to people, buildings, and eventually entire continents. But the environments are the star of the show here. One screenshot shows the Prince rolling through what appears to be a giant toybox, another through a landscape made entirely of food. It's the kind of creativity that reminds you why you fell in love with gaming in the first place. It's pure, unadulterated silliness. The developers aren't trying to be clever, or innovative, or anything other than completely and utterly *fun*.
Now, I'm usually skeptical of sequels that promise to “reinvent the wheel” (especially when they’re from established IPs). But with 'Once Upon a Katamari', I’m cautiously optimistic. The screenshots suggest a game that embraces its inherent weirdness and runs with it, rather than trying to be something it’s not. And in a gaming landscape increasingly dominated by gritty realism and po-faced seriousness, that’s a bloody refreshing thing indeed.
So, keep your eyes peeled for 'Once Upon a Katamari'. It looks like it's shaping up to be a right rollicking good time. (Sorry, I had to.)
Tags: Katamari, Nintendo, Screenshots, Gaming, Indie Games
Original article: IGN South Africa