Candy Rangers: Why Managing Four Rangers is a Beautiful Nightmare
Candy Rangers is an on-rails shooter adventure where you take control of four quadruplets, Candy, Mint, Lemon, and Plum, to protect their city from invading creatures. Developed by Mechano, the game tasks you with matching the colour of your rangers’ shots to the enemies on screen in a race against time. It features over 20 levels with secret paths and big boss encounters that test your coordination across a 3D world.
Specs & HUD |
Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown |
Performance & Fidelity |
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
Candy Rangers Steam Review: Specs & HUD
- Download size: 446.8MB.
- Full controller support and Mouse/Keyboard support included.
- Steam achievements are live.
- Third-person view of your team of four rangers.
- Displays team colours (e.g., red matches the B button) for shot identification.
- In-game cutscenes are present with the option to skip or click through.
- Best scores are tracked and shown on level select screens.
- Timed levels where getting hit reduces your remaining time.
Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown
Shooter gameplay here is a wild ride because you control four characters at once. They each have a colour assigned to them that matches the button colour on your controller, so red is B, for example. Each shot is different, and you have to shoot the coloured balloons with the right shot to clear them. It’s a 3D game world, and you get set camera angles as you move through the world. The levels you play on are a rolling road, and you can slow down and jump over obstacles to stay alive.
The levels do have crossroads, and you can choose your route through the levels, even finding hidden collectables in each level. Set pieces can happen and lock you into it, usually leading to big boss encounters with unique mechanics. At times, you can have your team split up, but you still control them all at once. It takes a while to get used to the gameplay flow; for me, it was just remembering the colours of the buttons to shoot. I had a hard time, but at my age, I have trouble with everything.
The shooting is fast and frantic, you have full control, and it’s almost like a rhythmic shooter-like experience. There is an opening tutorial section you can replay and practice on, which is lucky because the game can get a bit reflex-heavy at times. If you manage to survive, hard mode can be unlocked and selected for more challenge, plus you can unlock new game modes by finishing the game.
Candy Rangers Steam Review: Performance & Fidelity
- Decent graphics throughout the 3D world.
- Set camera angles provide a cinematic feel during the on-rails movement.
- Features a gallery where you can unlock and view art pieces from around the world.
- Fast and frantic shooting remains fluid during heavy waves.
- No voice work is included in the game.
- Uses a cursor-based system to help with aiming accuracy.
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
- Graphics settings: FPS limit, resolution, sampling, zoom scale, fullscreen, and v-sync.
- Sound volumes: Independent sliders for master, SFX, and BGM.
- Controller settings: Joystick sensitivity slider.
- Full remapping: You can remap both the controller and keyboard controls.
- Accessibility note: No Colourblind options or other accessibility settings available.
- UI issue: The mouse cursor stays on screen even when using a controller.
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Candy Rangers Steam Review
Summary
GOOD STUFF
The game offers a solid amount of content for a small download, featuring decent graphics and over 20 levels with branching paths and hidden collectables. The core shooting feels fast and frantic, providing a rhythmic experience that gives you full control. It’s great to see full controller and keyboard support with the ability to remap everything, plus a replayable tutorial to help you get a handle on the unique four-character mechanic. Unlocking hard mode and new game modes after finishing provides good replay value, and the gallery is a nice touch for seeing the world’s art.
BAD STUFF
The biggest hurdle is the learning curve; it takes a while to get used to the gameplay flow and remembering which colored button matches which ranger, which can be tough if your reflexes aren’t what they used to be. The aiming feels a bit loose, and I really wish there was a button to recentre the aim, as it can easily get away from you. Technical oversights like the mouse cursor staying on screen during controller play and the total lack of voice work or accessibility/colourblind options are disappointing, especially in a game so reliant on colour-coding.
FINAL VERDICT
A fast, frantic, and punishingly rhythmic shooter that will melt your brain and test your reflexes.
