Скачать или смотреть Katamari Damacy: Digital Happiness Simulator

With a new game in the series a little over a month away, I figured now was as good a time as any to talk Katamari Damacy, a beloved childhood favorite that just so happens, in my humble opinion, to also be the grandpappy of all silly, trippy, oddball games we are blessed with today.

21 years ago, a little budget release from Namco changed the game industry as we know it, no really, by proving that weird, niche, kooky little gems with a lot of personality could catch on just as hard as any self-serious, grimdark man-shooty bloodfest or angsty, overly technical melodrama, provided that they were crazy addictive and fun as hell, of course.

It's a lesson often forgotten in this age of chemically cleaned, focus tested slop we're deluged with, but if you've ever played anything with abstract art visuals, garishly colorful characters, a seemingly obtuse or weird gameplay premise or a poppy, bombastic soundtrack where such a thing was really more optional than necessary, then you might be traveling the trail that Katamari Damacy blazed back in the 00's.

And yes, even though I'm discussing the original release, I'm using footage from the remake. My heart belongs to that Playstation 2 classic, but hooking up the old girl to record footage is difficult and shaky on the best days. Give a man a break.