If you've ever wanted to play a Katamari game, I highly recommend that you do so. They're full of charm, great visual design & music, and a unique, intuitive control scheme.

If, on the other hand, you would like to play a game which has none of those things, this may be right up your alley.

Yea!

-You play as a black hole sucking up smaller objects to become bigger
-Lots of different objects
-Nice varity of levels that are each pretty large

Meh!

-Controls are too stiff
-Graphics and animations straight outta 10 years ago, but fit the theme well
-Climbing ramps is a chore, and why can i climb over some objects and not others that are smaller or same size?

Bleh!

-Some items are too difficult to assume they are able to be sucked up next
- Scoring high grades depends on best route memorization method
-No real replay value after seeing everything

The Lowdown:

You play as something that must steal all objects smaller then yourself to get bigger, so you can take in bigger objects before the time runs out. The game is nice for quick 5 or 10 minute runs at a time, but lacks anymore depth to long lasting. Your guy turns like a truck, which can make it difficult to get up some objects, or those real narrow ramps up to upper levels. The graphics while I am not crazy about fit the style quite well, for its cartoony element. There are 12 levels that take place in many different areas that are very spacious, with tons of objects to suck up into yourself.

With the main objective is to find smaller objects then yourself to get bigger, this can be difficult at times as some objects that look smaller won't register as being one that you need.

Once you complete all the levels, you can go back into them and try to best your score, or try some endless modes but I did not find any real appeal in this, but for top score nuts it will.

Verdict:

Worth it in the Dejobaan bundle pack goes on sale, but alone it is not really worth the $10

Basically it's a Katamari game, only less vibrant, less unique, less creative, and less fun.

As many others have mentioned, this game is basically Katamari Damacy on PC... except it is not as good as the real thing. Not that it's a bad game either, actually I had a lot of fun playing it, it's just that it's very short and has a few gameplay issues. To those not familiar with the Katamari games, the gameplay basically consist of moving around picking up any object/animal/person smaller than you. As you pick up stuff you grow in size and thus are able to absorb bigger stuff. Levels are timed and the goal is to absorb as many objects as possible within the time limit. The main difference is that in the Katamari games you roll a ball around while in The Wonderful End of the World you control a walking humanoid made out of spheres. Now lets get on with the review:

THE GOOD:
- It's Katamari Damacy on PC! The gameplay is the same and, to the best of my knowledge, it's the only Katamari clone in existence, so lets be grateful for having it on PC.

- The music is good for the most part, with some tracks bearing a style very reminiscent of Katamari Damacy (although I found the track from the Word Forge level very annoying).

- Levels are varied in design, there's indoor and outdoor locations and a few themed levels (e.g. Arcadia, Word Forge).

- As you beat levels you can unlock two other gameplay modes: time attack and free exploration. The latter is a blessing for OCD completionists like me ;-)

- Controls are responsive and you can configure the mouse sensitivity. BTW mouse-look provides you with more spatial awareness in comparison with the dual stick controls of Katamari Damacy.

THE BAD:
- Levels are too short and there's too few of them. You have 12 levels clocking around 3-5 minutes each. This means you easily go through the whole game in 2-3 hours if you don't aim for all the achievements, and half of that time will be spent in replaying the levels to get the A grade required to unlock the final level. As reference, I got 100% achievement after 5 hours of gameplay.

- Level design could have been better. All levels are square areas (no around-the-world levels) and there's only a couple of them that deserve to be called big. There's nothing compared to the massive Katamari levels where you can end up engulfing cities, continents, planets and stars.

- Graphics are very simple and rough but get the job done. However, most of the objects are pretty plain, e.g. furniture, dogs, fruits, tools, average people, etc. Half the fun in Katamari was the charm and personality transmitted by the quirky characters and scenes you could find around the levels, they felt truly alive. TBEOTW levels feel more static.

- There's not enough challenge, most levels can be beaten with an A grade in one or two tries. However there's one notable exception: the Internet Cafe is a PITA, I ragequit several times when aiming for the A and A+ grades.

- The sound effects are just meh, I found the standard sound for when you pick up something lame, overused and, eventually, a little bit annoying. There's only a few objects with specific sound effects, (e.g. dogs bark, phones ring).

- There's little replay value. The alternate gameplay modes get old real fast since the levels are very short to begin with, there's not a lot to see. The main use for the free exploration mode will be to tackle a couple of achievements but beyond that there's no secrets or collectibles.

THE UGLY:
- Playing as a walking humanoid is not as intuitive as rolling a Katamari ball: it's difficult to judge your size and contact points with objects. Considering It's a time based game, it's VERY annoying and frustrating when your character gets stuck in a pass that at first glance seems wide enough to get through. Also, as you grow in size it becomes more and more difficult to pick up small objects even though you walk right on top of them, because the walking animation doesn't provide a consistent contact area with the ground.

- Unlike Katamari, in this game it's not size that matters, it's the number of objects you have absorbed what determines which objects you can pick up (eg. the object counter must reach X number for you to be able to pick up Y object). This means that sometimes you can't pick up objects that look small enough and, conversely, sometimes you can pick up objects a tad bigger than you'd expect. So you can't always trust your eyes to plan your pickup routes, you'll be forced to rely in trial and error.

- When you walk against an obstacle you just stop, but sometimes when you walk against a narrow pass you get repelled back a considerable distance. This is annoying as sometimes you get thrown against other obstacles or outside the boundaries of the level, losing many precious seconds as you scramble to get back on track.

CONCLUSION:
The Wonderful End of the World feels like a poor man's Katamari Damacy that conforms with providing the same basic gameplay experience. It plays exactly the same but lacks its charm and challenge. That said, it's a decently fun game, albeit very short and rough around the edges. I wouldn't pay full price for it, but if you're like me and need to scratch your Katamari itch, I think it's worth getting during a sale.

The only possible benefit to buying this horrible knockoff of Katamari Damacy is I had five less dollars to spend on drugs.

Stay in school kids.

Fun Katamari Damacy clone that's missing a lot of the charm and humor of that series. Also, it's rather short. I beat it in about an hour and a half and I failed a lot of missions (didn't get an A, but instead an A-, having to repeat some to do the last level), having to do them again.

It's by no means worth the 10 dollars in this case because of that. With a coupon, I was able to get the game for 2.50. If you can get the game for that amount, it's worth it for what it is, but the small playtime and how some of the levels work (getting stuck in between chairs, can't roll up and over things like in katamari damaci such as walls) really get in the way of me recommending it.

A PC alternative for Katamari Damacy although not as good as Katamari Damacy.
It is somewhat frustrating, though. The level is rigid. There's a fixed optimal route to get the A+ rank.
Absorbing is not based on size, but on how many objects absorbed. It's a bit confusing and each level has its own standard.
Overlooking these quirks, this game -- like other dejobaan games -- is challenging but still fun to play.

It might not be really long or polished, but it's the only game of it's kind on PC. In this game, you play as a marionette that is controlled by you, the player. You must gather as many objects as you can across multiple levels before a giant fish-headed demon eats the world and all who inhabit it. When you gather objects, you become bigger and bigger until you complete the level. It's really fun to start from being a small stick figure, and then become a giant that towers over the landscape. It's a bit short though, but that's not really bad in my opinion. My only gripes about this game are that the controls feel a little weird and that the difficulty is a bit inconsistent. Other than that, it's a WONDERFUL game!

7/10

The Wonderful End of the World is a fun little casual game.

Visually the game looks nice for it's time. There are were no issues with textures not appearing- though stretching appeared to be an issue in some maps. Some maps are missing boundaries or have poorly textured exteriors. 3/5

The audio in the game is quite repetative, and with no option to turn off the title screen music, nor the sound effects, this can be quite irritating. The audio quality is reasonable, with no major spikes or inconsistancies. 3/5

Mechanically the game is alright- there are problems with some items not being picked up when you interact with them. Some levels are significantly more challenging than others- due mainly to poor layout(One of the first levels is more difficult than the final level). There is an issue where the character will get stuck between models when the size is increased. 2/5

The Wonderful End of the World is a fun casual game- but it's worth nothing near its store price. I would suggest picking it up on sale if you want something to do for a few hours- or you could challenge yourself with the game's achievements. The game could be a whole lot better, but it could also be a whole lot worse.

Final numerical score for the lazy: 8/15

This game was okay. I wish there was a neutral review button. Since it's a clone of Katamari, meh. The gameplay is almost strictly worse than Katamari, and there is almost no humor in comparison, and far smaller levels. There is no clear grading system in-game, so you get to guess how well you did until the very end of each level. It's a good waste of time, but not a good waste of $10. Get this for $2 or less.

Cool Katamari-like game, you run around picking up things smaller than you to make yourself bigger and pick up bigger things etc etc. Don't spend a lot of money on it because you'll get through all of the levels in under an hour. Enjoyable casual game with cool artistic concepts, my 3 year old loves to play it with me (he just pushes the button to move forwards haha). A nice game to buy for kids or just pass a little bit of time.

A game where you get to walk around maps and consume everything. It is simple and fun for all ages. However it takes less than 1 hour to complete all 12 levels. More than that if you want to get all achievements which will require playing the game twice.

A fun game with very simple gameplay, simply run into small objects to get bigger so you can pick up bigger objects. A nice amount of variation in levels to keep it interesting. The fun and simple gameplay and the entertaining visuals make for a relaxing game. I would recommend it, but it is a short game so try to pick it up on sale.

If you can't play any of the Katamari games then this one will suffice.

Spoiler alert: The world ends...

I immedieately got this game when I saw it. I have always loved the Katamari Series and I don't see why Namco Bandai just doesn't port Katamari Forever to the PC.

This very much is a Kamatari Clone. You pick up items sprawled around the ground by running into them and grow by picking up more items, which in turn allows you to pick up even more, bigger items.
The visuals are very simple and the music is fun, just as in the Katamari series.

I payed 1,99€ for the game and finished it in 1 1/2 hours. But those 90 minutes passed without me even noticing. The game definitely is a lot of fun if you like different experiences.
You could get more out of it by trying to rank A+ in each of the 12 levels.
So decide for yourself if it's worth it.

One thing you should keep in mind is the technical limits of this game though.
The resolution locked at 1024x768 and there's no anti-aliasing without a way to change it. It doesn't look amazing streched up to 1920x1080, but it didn't bother me after 5 minutes.
The game also works fine with a Xbox360 controller, but only for moving your character. All the menus have to be controlled with your mouse and keyboard.

Unless you REALLY need to scratch that Katamari itch, this probably wont be for you. I recommend playing one of those over this any day. It's a functional game, but it's missing the charm of Katamari. The stages leave much to be desired, the music and sound effects (with the exception of the main menu theme) are bland and boring, It's increddibly short, and overall the game just seems very unpolished.

This game has potential to be something, but it ends just being a lesser Katamari game.

I hope they make a sequal: The not so wonderful end of the world

This game isn't a game it's an adventure.

Sure there's no real score, and sure you just get bigger.....

but play this game on some high quality LSD and you start appreciating a lot of the spacial ideas.

One of my favorite levels is the level with the words, if this game is on sale grab it up!

let me tell you a story that may seem off track and irrelevant at first.

once upon a time there was this game called rogue. shortly afterwarts there were alot of clones of rogue and all were bunched together under the label "roguelike" creating a significant genre of games that stood out from the other computer roleplaying games. a long long time later there was a game called minecraft, building upon the softer branches of roguelikes, it inspired many clones of itself. at first these clones got negative reviews for just being clones but later some began to get really great reviews as games in their own right. what the hell does any of this have to do with this game?

simple. it's a katamari clone. but not as good. which isn't a problem since it is an indie game. you know how indie games dont have as much of a budget so ofcourse it's going to be abit lacking. so anyways this be the first game ive seen that's an attempt to be in the same genre as katamari. and i see so many negative reviews about how it's a clone of katamari but not as good. it's like finding all those minecraft clones and seeing negative reviews just because it's a clone all while missing the point of building up the genre of epic snowballing. this game in itself is pretty interesting. and it's a pc game and not a console game.