Once Upon a Katamari (2025)

Keep the good times rolling with a new entry in the Katamari Damacy series! In this puzzle action-adventure game, you'll roll your Katamari through time itself. Journey through the Jurassic Period, Ice Age, historic Japan, and more eras to rebuild the starry sky.

Puzzle Adventure Action Fantasy Historical Comedy pirates ancient greece dinosaurs underwater time travel character customization weird collecting ancient egypt wild west time limit prehistoricXbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch

Log it

Sign in to log this.

Character

Plot-driven, warm, epic and unpretentious.

character-ledplot-driven
warmbleak
intimateepic
unpretentiousprestige
cooloverwhelming

Who loves it, who doesn't

No profiled raters yet.

Ask the title

A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.

YesNoUnclear

Reviews

No reviews yet.

From the critics

A few lines from each review; the whole review is on the critic's site. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.

PlayStation UniverseJoe RichardsOct 20259.5/10
Once Upon A Katamari feels like a confident step back into the series after having a crack at some remasters, and feels like a game that perfectly follows up on what those remasters set out to do. Everything that we all love about Katamari is still here and absolutely kicking. Small reservations with the progression system do precious little to take away from what is - ultimately - one of the most pure and appealing game concepts ever put to players. An absolutely fantastic return to form for a legacy franchise.
Read the review
IGNCharlie WacholzOct 20259/10
Once Upon A Katamari's appropriately ostentatious, energetic return is the best the series has been since the PlayStation 2 era.
Read the review
DualShockersNicole CelicOct 20259/10
Bandai Namco really hit a home run with this latest entry in the Katamari Damacy series. It's calming, cozy, and whimsical—in other words, everything you expect from a Katamari game. The time travel theme works well, and the ability to customize your appearance based on your gameplay performance really sells it.
Read the review
Metro GameCentralOct 20256/10
Yet another entirely unnecessary sequel to a classic game that should never have got any follow-ups at all. But if you want even more of the same old thing there are few small sparks of imagination here and there.
Read the review
ForbesOllie BarderNov 20257/10
Overall, Once Upon A Katamari is a big expansion over its earlier iterations, but with the added complexity and stricter time limits, some of the charm and fun of just exploring has been lost. This is still a solid entry in the series, but certainly not one of my favorites.
Read the review

Snippets via OpenCritic, where 83% of critics recommend it.

About the game

Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
Developer: Rengame
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Released: October 24, 2025
Modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Perspective: Third person
Engine: Unity

IGDB rating 7.9/10 from 12 ratings.

Screenshots

Similar in taste

Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.

Katamari Forever 200982% alike
Both plot-driven, epic, unpretentious.
Goemon's Great Adventure 199881% alike
Both plot-driven, unpretentious, epic.
LEGO Dimensions 201579% alike
Both plot-driven, warm, unpretentious.
Lichtspeer 201677% alike
Both plot-driven, unpretentious, warm.
The Adventures of Rad Gravity 199075% alike
Both plot-driven, unpretentious, warm.
Spheroids 201774% alike
Both plot-driven, unpretentious, warm.
River City Saga: Journey to the West 202674% alike
Both plot-driven, unpretentious, warm.
Panic! 199474% alike
Both plot-driven, unpretentious, epic.
LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy 202469% alike
Television · Both epic, unpretentious, plot-driven.
Time Bandits 202469% alike
Television · Both unpretentious, plot-driven, epic.