Waking up half drowned and immediately getting rescued by a pair of animal eared girls isn’t exactly a normal Tuesday. But that is exactly how Kemono Friends: Kingdom throws you into its bizarre, surprisingly addictive world. You are dealing with girls who evolved directly from a magical cosmic resource called Sand Star, and they are constantly being hunted by sketchy, dangerous entities known as Ceruleans. You basically get drafted as their tactical commander to stop a massive, creeping conspiracy from destroying their home.

HANGING OUT WITH COSMIC ANIMAL GIRLS

The lore is weirdly charming. You wake up in the water, totally clueless, right before two of these powered up girls drag you to safety. Thanks to the Sand Star crashing to Earth, these girls possess ridiculous strength and distinct animal traits. You spend a massive chunk of your time building out your roster, meeting new characters, and forming an incredibly overpowered squad. The voice acting is top tier, and the in game cutscenes actually give you a real reason to care about the characters instead of just furiously tapping through the dialogue.

LAUNCHING YOUR SQUAD OUT OF PAPER AIRPLANES

The actual combat loop is where this game completely hooks you. Instead of just mashing a basic attack button, you literally launch your squad across the battlefield using giant paper airplanes. It sounds totally ridiculous, but it actually requires some serious tactical brainpower.

You drag and swipe the screen to perfectly calculate their landing zones. Dropping a unit right onto a monster’s claw means they are going to take heavy damage, but placing them perfectly next to a support character triggers a massive healing aura to keep your frontline alive. You are constantly reading the board and adjusting your angles. Nailing the exact landing spot to trigger a gorgeous, screen clearing ultimate attack against a tough boss feels absolutely incredible.