REVIEW | Cake Invaders

LifeisXbox’s Cake Invaders review | A game has many ways of catching your attention. Sometimes, it’s the graphics or the trailer and other times the name immediately tingles your senses. Now, let that be exactly the case with a little game called Cake Invaders. A game that has the word cake in it can’t go wrong, right? Well, I put this assumption to the test for our dearest readers. Developed by Eastasiasoft Limited and ZOO Corporation and published by the former, Cake Invaders is a very basic but colorful game.

We’ve reviewed a lot of games from Eastasiasoft Limited in the past, from Horatio Goes Snowboarding and Lucid Cycle to LifeisXbox recommended games like Sheepo and Ovivo. Let’s hope this is another one for the books!

Most Memorable Moment

I’m usually not focused on getting 1000G but in Cake Invaders, there are only a few achievements and they aren’t that difficult. So I went for it, of course! With all the achievements unlocked, there was one still remaining: reach the 12th wave. Time after time, I couldn’t get past the tenth wave. And then the time was there: I got to the 11th wave, my heart was beating inside my throat, tension was building… and I died. SO CLOSE. Those goddamn flying golden fishes ruin everything. I did end up getting to wave 12 and even wave 22 so it’s all okay in the end!

ℹ️ Reviewed on Xbox Series X | Review code provided by PR/publisher, this review is the personal opinion from the writer.

What we Liked!

  • Easy and simple story | Maybe you’ve heard of Baumkuchen cakes? Well, I hadn’t until I played Cake Invaders since this game is all about the Baumkuchen. Just a small note to not Google this if you’re hungry, because damn, this is a good-looking dessert. Apparently, the Japanese love these German-inspired treats but so do alien invaders from across the universe. You can probably see where this is going, huh? Yeah, it’s up to you to protect the Baumkuchen from the hungry invaders. Well, you don’t have to ask me twice to defend some delicious food, that’s for sure. I admit it’s a super basic story and there really isn’t much to it, but I like the simplicity of it.
  • Plain yet enjoyable and even addicting gameplay | Everything about Cake Invaders is super simple. You shoot invaders and you die when they’ve gotten to all your Baumkuchen. You start with one shooter and basic minigun in the first wave. Luckily, along the way you’ll be able to get more shooters and more interesting bullets. Every now and then, a Baumkuchen glowing in rainbow colors will appear. Shoot this multiple times, and you can unlock more crew members, special bullets and more. It’s all pretty basic, but it’s fun. And getting those extra crew members is vital, really, as enemies become stronger and multiple fast.

Mixed Feelings

  • Only one mode | I went into this game with some excitement. Unfortunately, I felt a tad sad as soon as the menu popped up and I could only press start for one game mode. Yes, Cake Invaders only has one game mode. If you think this makes the game easy to complete, I’m going to have to tell you that you’re wrong. The one mode that this game offers is basically an endless mode. You just go wave after wave after wave until you eventually die. Even though I did really enjoy this mode, some multiplayer features or one or two extra modes would’ve been welcome.
  • Average art style and soundtrack | Everything about Cake Invaders screams retro. While I did enjoy the graphics, they were rather static and there isn’t a long of change. You’re basically playing in the same setting throughout the entire game. I honestly felt the urge to explore more in this game, besides extra gameplay that is. I wanted to explore the world, but I simply couldn’t. I’m a huge fan of the aesthetics of Cake Invaders, but it fell a bit short. Compared to the graphics, the soundtrack didn’t really speak to me at all. It just felt unoriginal and didn’t leave a lasting impression. Sure, it contribued to the chaos of the game, but I ended up turning the sound off and my own music on.
  • Repetitive | As I mentioned, Cake Invaders only has one mode which makes it extremely susceptible to being repetitive. And I’m afraid this was exactly the case so this is probably a game you play for about half an hour at a time. There is a global leaderboard and personal best board to keep you challenged, and in some ways this did help even though the game erased my high score once for some reason. Because of the ranking, I feel like Cake Invaders is heavily focused on addicted gameplay that has you trying again and again and again. And while it somehow manages to create this ‘urge’, it also tends to lean towards being quite repetitive. This is only strengthened by the repetitive nature of the graphics as well, by the way.

What we Disliked

  • You can go on and read the verdict because I got nothing!

How long to beat the story | There is no end!
How long to achieve 1000G | 1 to 2 hours

VERDICT
70%

Even though I didn’t have any strong dislikes for Cake Invaders, it’s not a perfect game. The story is easy-going and so is the gameplay, but the repetitive nature of the game and there only being one mode were small dealbreakers. Because of this, I think this is a game you play a few times and then never return to again even though those few times you dive into the game, the gameplay is very addictive.

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