Count Pumpcula Reviews

Happy to say the games changed enough to change my review. While it can still use some work, I think it's in a decent spot. Majority of the issues below have been fixed, or are in the works. Was able to go back and finish the game, while the part I struggled on retained a degree of difficulty, it didn't get gutted into oblivion. Good job :) (pre-update review below) Alright... Honestly hate leaving DNR reviews... but this one... This game needs a bit more time in the oven. For what it is, it's more or less just a "Hollow Knight at home" A many number of times I took multiple hits from a single drop into spikes, worst being 4 in one swoop. Buying relics doesn't remove them from the shop.... which means you can just end up rebuying them... Not that there was many items to buy in this game... Areas leave a lot to be desired, they're often very short with 1-3 enemy varieties that... mostly just try to run at you... I did not finish the game sadly, the 4th? area (after the sage bug zone), which kinda felt like a Path of Pain equivalent, was by far too long for a game that sends you back to the starting area if you die (this is where I was taking many hits with each fall and honestly just getting frustrated) Graphic wise... 7/10 Honestly not horrible, nothing amazing, but they're cute enough. They got the job done. Gameplay... 8/10 when it functions properly, 4/10 when its a little bit of a frustrating mess... Ie taking multiple hits, hit boxes being jank... Story... Honestly didn't catch me at all, won't rate because it doesn't really feel like story was a selling point for the game. Music... 8/10 Most the music was fine, some was forgettable, but most was more than good enough. Sounds... leaves a lot to be desired... Impact of attacks feels a bit weak... Hard to explain this one, but long story short, just didn't feel good. Overall for the price, and from what i gathered, its a one man passion project? Think you can shape this up to be a "recommend" just needs a bit of work. Personal suggestions 1. Remove relics from the shop when bought 2. Rework the Path of Pain esque area a tiny bit, maybe add some bench equivalent around the games maps. 3. Perhaps a menu that shows some stats, current run time, relics bought etc (the relics do show up around the face, but its a bit unclear which is which) 4. Work on this issue with taking damage, perhaps a slightly longer immunity after taking hits would solve certain issues. 5. Small note here, in the newbie/tutorial zone, when dying, I saw the characters sprite would reappear at times before transitioning to the game over screen, was a bit weird. 6. Might want to rework the bosses a bit, they felt very "Tank and spank" didn't really require thinking about the mechanics much, perhaps make hitting them recover less mana. I won't be refunding, but I would like to come back at a later time if things change. Overall, good job, just needs a bit more love before I can honestly recommend it to people.

A tough but rewarding platformer with beautiful visuals, Count Pumpcula was overall a joy to play. There is a bit of a learning curve but the more you try, the more you learn and understand the mechanics of the game. The areas you explore are absolutely stunning and I often found myself stopping to take it all in. This game also has some well-designed boss fights which I am always happy to see. You have to learn their patterns and come up with strategies to defeat them. I very much recommend it!

The movement and combat take a bit to get used to, but everything is well put together and looks really nice. Fun little action adventure.

Loved the art, loved the character. Big things lying ahead for Panda InkCorp. Well done on the game!

So I found this game through "Slime Climb: A Count Pumpcula Tale" and boy, do I NOT regret it. Just like Slime Climb I thoroughly enjoyed this incredibly detailed indie game. I am still new to metroidvania's, and if most of them are at this quality then I feel like this is a great step into the genre. This game takes you on a cute little adventure with beautiful scenery as well as a fun story to go along with it. Often I would find myself just putting down the controller to stop and take in the peaceful landscapes like in the Moon, Underwater and Orn areas which is even bettered by a fantastic melancholic soundtrack. I am genuinely impressed with the quality and attention to detail in this game. Each house has its own little touch that makes it different from others, making the world feel more in depth than it should. The gameplay feels fluid but I did struggle at times with hit boxes, although that's most likely my fault. The boss fights were great fun and often wanted more. Boss room's also feel extremely unique and areas like the Kraken and Final Boss gave off the feeling of accomplishment after the Boss fight. The enemies, although few, have great little character designs and their mechanics can be worked out fairly quickly. Power Up's feel great and it's a fun time looking for the little Health and Mana Power Up's. Kind of like an Easter Egg hunt. From what I have seen, this has all been done by a solo developer which is impressive to say the least. I am glad I stumbled across the dev's other games otherwise I would not have found this absolute gem.

Honestly loved the game over all despite having some teething pains. I would definitely interested in any future DLC and or a sequel. The game kept me engaged and left me wanting more I'd give it a 8/10 Pros: • Vibrant visuals • Relaxing music • Controls feel good • Light hearted and often funny dialogue • Reasonably priced Cons: • The currency in the game becomes useless very early on. • Unmarked checkpoints that sometimes even work against the player. • Hit boxes not always clear requiring trial and error. • Feel: The game felt good to play early on not too challenging not to punishing little to be frustrated about. It's easy to compare this game to Hollowknight and it has the combat and movement mechanics of that game while being less challenging and less punishing than it's inspiration as well as progressing at much faster pace. Although techincaly a metroidvania it's light on those elements it's hard to get lost as the game always points you in the right direction and most things off the beaten path are optional extras. • Resources & saving: Mana statues are infinite so you can just stock up on heals when ever they are near by. The game respawns you at a central hub when you die accept for boss rooms their are no save points which becomes punishing as the difficulty climbs, The player also doesn't lose anything when they die which feels good early on but quickly becomes meaningless when the currency loses it's value after purchasing the available items from the shop. • Challenge: The bosses offered some challenge but can be brute forced if you play aggressively most bosses in the game only took me a few attempts at most and will re-spawn the player outside the boss room so the bosses never felt frustrating, The real challenge of this game is the platforming in the later stage of the game which actually makes you feel relieved when you finally reach the boss. • Atmosphere: The humour and character emotes caught me off guard and caused me to burst out laughing on few occasions and the story is whimsical and cheerful, Pixel art in some areas is beautiful and had me stopping at times to take in the vibrant colours The music and ambient sounds all help set a relaxing tone. • Launch issues: As of 11/03/24 **Update the Dev was quick to address this issue.** The invincibility frames after getting hit don't always work as intended allowing the player to take multiple hits in a single instance mostly occurring when being knocked into spikes. • Conclusion: The game is worth a purchase it's short and sweet for the price of a film you can't fault the experience, It might not be a hardcore players cup of tea and it is a little rough around the edges on release but if you like the idea of a more casual friendly metroidvania or just want to chill for a few hours its worth giving a go.

Count pumpcula is a short but very sweet little metroidvania that is deceptively difficult at times but most always remains enjoyable due to an abundance of charm coupled with gorgeous pixel art. I was genuinly blown away by the vistas on offer in this game, featuring well defined pixel art drenched in the most vibrant of colours. The combination of the high fidelity pixel art with beautiful shaders, particle effects and lighting made for a remarkably colourful experience. This is paired with upbeat and catchy melodies that just give off good vibes, which you'll need to keep your cool throughout the game's harder challenges. It takes a while to get into the flow of the controls and everything, so getting sent back to the hub everytime you die can be rather jarring early but once you get the hang of it, you'll start breezing through the first half of the game. That is mostly because the levels flow quite nicely from the hub. Each level branches of on its own, so there's not as much interconnectivity as most other metroidvania's but there's still a few forks in the road as well as many optional backtracking upgrades. These you will very much need not only for the bosses but also for the second half of the game, which is a brutally challenging precision platformer level that did get my heart pumping. General levels steer on the easier side but this last level turned everything up to eleven, so you'd best have practiced your pogo skills by now. Yes this game does unfortunately indeed take many of the bad aspects from that one game, but luckily not all of them. Especially the loss of currency upon death being precluded is welcome as that is generally a mechanic that adds nothing to a game whatsoever. Count pumpcula does indeed refrain from punishing death which is a great design choice as you will die a lot. Not only in that final level but also early as you get accustomed to the controls or on any of the games' handfull of bosses. These bosses pose a nice challenge without being impossible, they also luckily feature a checkpoint right before them so you don't have to run back all the way from a far away checkpoint (another mediocre mechanic being precluded, heck yes!). It's not all good though as this game gives very little feedback when you take damage as well as only a couple of I-frames. This can lead to you dying without noticing it, due to the unfortunate inclusion of contact damage for both bosses and regular enemies. Luckily a few tries is all you need to circumvent this as opposed to most soulslikes, this game's adversaries have reasonable health pools. The lack of feedback on hit is about the only mayor complaint i have with this game, as i feel like everything else delivered. Especially the charming world was enjoyable, not only due to the afforementioned vibrant art but also the general character designs and writing. The premise is goofy, the characters are goofy and the whole thing is just a great time because of it. Not even lag, bugs or crashes will detract you from that as this game has none of that! It's very well made on a technical level and boots up in the blink of an eye. To make it even better the game is dirt cheap and doesn't overstay its welcome. So it's an ideal metroidvania for an evening of fun, i'll gladly wholeheartedly recommend this little gem :)

There is a lot of jank in this VERY short indie game. The first half of the game is a metroidvania. The final? level is a precision platformer gauntlet without any checkpoints that actually reminds me a bit of some of the Lone Fungus challenge rooms. There were frequently 2 ways to approach the platforming as well. I could pogo on the spikes or dash/jump hug the ceilings over the spikes and I liked that I had options like this. I was having the most fun with this bit of the game. The visuals in the game are nice, and I enjoyed the bosses as well.