All in all, Umihara Kawase Fresh! is presented smartly, if quite bizarrely. Its movement system is fiendish, sometimes frustrating, sometimes free-flowing. Unfortunately, it asks a lot of the player and manages to hide its best bits. The level and boss design are unlikely to inspire anyone, especially when already taken to wit’s end by the stuttering difficulty, but that’s not enough to undo the game’s unique charm. If you’re already an Umihara fan then Umihara Kawase Fresh! will give you your fix like nothing else. For anyone else, it’s harder to love – but not impossible.
Publisher Nicalis has announced that the fourth game in the Umihara Kawase series Umihara Kawase Fresh! will release both physically and digitally for PlayStation 4 in the West on October 30, 2020. Pre-orders for a limited physical version are now available at the Nicalis Store for $39.99.
Daily Video Game writes: "Umihara Kawase Fresh! is currently on sale for Nintendo Switch at Amazon. If you’re interested in this action-adventure platform game, you will be able to save $15 off on this game for your Nintendo Switch right now."
For many years, who Umihara Kawase is was a mystery. Past games established her as a traveling sushi chef. They never explained how she ended up in a strange world with doors leading to nowhere and bipedal fish. Instead, it offered a “just go with it” approach. Yet now, suddenly new games are adding unprecedented context. By refreshing the series with Umihara Kawase Fresh and bringing her in as a crossover character for games like Blade Strangers, we have more substance.
