Katamari Damacy Rolling Live - Apple Arcade Review

Kai Taylor
Jun 24
5 min read

Katamari Damacy Rolling Live cover image featuring the Prince, a Katamari, the King of All Cosmos

Genre: Action-Puzzle

Modes: Single-player

Developer: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Release Date: April 3rd 2025

Available On: iOS, macOS, tvOS

Reviewed On: iOS

I recently played Katamari Damacy for the first time. I loved it for its addictive gameplay, entertaining story and stylistic art design. The first entry is a classic in every sense of the word, and we have not seen a new Katamari game since Touch My Katamari, released in 2011. A couple of months ago, the first new Katamari game in 14 years came out exclusively for Apple Arcade. The game in question is Katamari Damacy Rolling Live. If you have played a Katamari game before, then you have played Rolling Live. For a 14-year gap, the game does not add anything new to the gameplay. The idea of the King of All Cosmos becoming a streamer is entertaining, but it does mean that there is no primary objective in the game. The game is still fun in its own right, but for a 14-year gap between releases, Katamari Damacy Rolling Live is one of the most disappointing games I have played in recent memory.

ON THE AIR

The King of All Cosmos has broken new ground. He has discovered the internet and now wants to livestream the Prince rolling up Katamari for all the world to see. As always, the King is as narcissistic as ever, always looking to make the Prince feel like his efforts are not worthy. The charm and spiteful nature of the King is as prevalent as ever, and his nasty treatment of the Prince has not changed one bit. I love the King for all his flaws, and he is just like this in Katamari Damacy: Rolling Live.

Katamari Damacy Rolling Live gameplay featuring a scene of the King of All Cosmos being unimpressed with a Katamari

Now that the King has started a channel, viewers of the show begin sending in requests. These requests are the main missions of the game, and as your live streams gain more viewers and subscribers, more levels will open up to you. The levels themselves are everything Katamari Damacy has always been. You start with a Katamari and need to roll up as many objects as possible to increase its size. In Katamari Damacy Rolling Live, you are given a score at the end of every stage based on how big your Katamari gets within the time limit. The bigger it is, the more viewers and subscribers you get. You can also replay each level to try and get the highest score. At its core, this style of gameplay feels like any other Katamari Damacy game. The problem with Katamari Damacy Rolling Live is that that's all the game is.

ROLLING AROUND AND FALLING DOWN

Katamari Damacy: Rolling Live fails to capture the magic that made the series so beloved back in the 2000s. The gameplay remains the same, and for the most part, it functions as intended. There are various controller options for the touchscreen, allowing you to choose your preferred one. I decided on the dual-stick controls because that is the closest equivalent to playing the game with a controller. In the game, you roll around large environments and pick up objects to increase the size of the Katamari. The controls on the touchscreen are responsive and work a lot better than I expected. However, after playing the game for a short period, the frame rate would drop significantly. There was one stage where I was rolling up people around an amusement park, and the frame rate dropped to single digits for about 30 seconds. At first, I thought it might be my iPhone 12 overheating due to the fast-paced gameplay, but I don't believe that's the case. When I played Rayman Mini on the same iPhone, I was getting 60 fps 90% of the time, with only occasional drops. Katamari Damacy: Rolling Live was dropping in frames on almost every stage I played. Granted, the only time it became unplayable was during the amusement park stage, but it is still no excuse for such poor performance.

The missions in Katamari Damacy: Rolling Live feel identical to any other game in the series. In most cases, the levels have a generous time limit and are less challenging to complete than they were in the past. Obviously, if you are aiming for the highest rank on every level, the game becomes significantly more difficult, but this is an optional objective and not necessary for progression. In the few hours I played, I didn't feel like I was making progress or seeing anything that made me want to continue. Once I finished a stage, I had no desire to return to it, and whenever I reached another milestone in terms of views or subscriber counts, it didn't feel particularly rewarding. Compare this to the original Katamari Damacy, and every stage you complete features a cutscene that progresses the story, making you feel like you are making a difference in rebuilding the stars and planets in the sky. Katamari Damacy also allows you to walk around a hub world so you can see what levels you have completed, further adding to the rewarding nature of the gameplay. Katamari Damacy: Rolling Live lacks a hub world, instead featuring a menu screen with icons, and lacks cutscenes or narrative to reward players for their hard work.

All of these factors have left me wondering why Katamari Damacy: Rolling Live did not come out for current consoles. The game is exclusive to Apple Arcade, and the iOS version of the game that I played is as barebones as it could be for a Katamari Damacy game. In recent years, remasters of Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari have come out for most home consoles. Why, then, is this new game bound to Apple Arcade? I don't understand why this game wouldn't release for PS5, PC, Xbox and Switch. The series deserves a lot better than that, but at the same time, Katamari Damacy Rolling Live is not worthy enough to stand with previous entries in the series.