PONCHO Reviews

I really don't understand all the harsh reviews about this game. I loved it! That pixel art is gorgeous. The game is short enough not to get boring. The puzzles are fun and well designed. I read a lot of complaining about glitches, I did encounter a few minor hiccups, controller support could be better, nothing game breaking. If you can't handle imperfection from a game created by 3 people, I don't think indie gaming is for you.

Poncho is a rare find. Not necessarily a good find, but a it's at least curious enough that second and third glances should be warranted. The use of two-dimensional platforming in a three-dimensional way is a very fun mechanic and once you get the hang of it, becomes as natural as any other variety of jumping. But I wasn't able to find it fun. I enjoyed a little of what I encountered, but once the central gimmick wore off I found the level design at least a little inept. I made it through two or three maps before I realized that I had no idea what I was doing, no clue why I was doing it, and since I didn't feel those answers were coming I didn't want to do whatever it was any longer. If they were going for the breadcrumbs style of story-telling I would appreciate a few more niblets earlier on, that might entice play past a boredom with the mechanic in an effort to see the story.

Fun short game. Game time is under 2 hours likely if you just breeze through collecting the bare minimum. I enjoyed the tricky end puzzles as it felt quite satisfying when you finally nail it. Collection achievement doesn't seem possible unfortunately which is a shame for achievement hunters like myself. :(

It's Okay. I picked this game up after reading over the Dev's postmortem on Gamasutra (http://tinyurl.com/j7ruesa), and, I'm sorry to say that it didn't quite live up to my expectations. But! For their first game, it is very well done. I found myself having fun, but thinking about what I would have done differently... a lot. The game is hugely over ambitious, focuses on art and environment over core game play and always feels like something is missing but again, I still found it fun, easy to pick up and well executed.

Poncho is a game about a little robot making its way through an overgrown post-apocalyptic world to the big data center tower, in response to a distress signal. Despite being a puzzle-platformer, Poncho is a game you grab when you need to relax and clear your mind of everyday problems. Each level will bring a relaxing, healing atmosphere upon you, starting with background music, and completing it with peaceful and colorful visuals. No enemies, no hazards — only you, 3-plane puzzles and a world to explore. Yes, you can be telefragged, or fall into the pit, but with no punishment from the game whatsoever. There is no forced progression and a neat world select screen — you can leave a level anytime you like, and you can always go back to previous locations. Thanks to the levels themselves being looped (you can go both left and right), you can explore any level you have unlocked further without tedious backtracking. To sum it up, you can count on this game to wash away your worries after a long week of work. [spoiler]UNLESS YOU’VE REACHED THE FINAL LEVEL. IT IS HELL. Go for the final level only when you are ready for some high-paced, quick decision-making platforming in three planes.[/spoiler] Poncho has very interesting multi-plane drifting system as it’s core mechanic. You can switch between the front plane, middle plane and far plane any moment you like, providing there is enough space for you to fit there. This allows you to use perspective as your ally: if the pillar is too high to jump on, just switch the plane, jump, and when Poncho is seemingly above the pillar — switch back. Voila, you are standing on top of “unreachable” pillar. There are lots of tricks with that system for you, it’s really fun and puzzles are actually good. Developers made sure to utilize their core mechanic right. I've mentioned that you can always re-explore previous levels. But what’s the reason to explore a level you’ve already cleared? 1. You can find and unlock 2 abilities in game. One of them, for example, will allow you to stomp the floor and discover secret areas. 2. Collectibles of sorts: keys, memory chips, secret characters, and dead robots to revive (Glory to the Robot King!) 3. Secret areas. These are mostly caves of various sorts, but there is one really cool location [spoiler]where robots are partying hard, and planes keep clamping together.[/spoiler] The game is aware of it’s own amount of content - it has few twists and puzzle mechanics, but it utilizes them well. It also has just the right length not to get boring, and two endings. So grab it on Friday, sit back, listen to music, relax, solve puzzles and explore. Sadly, most people didn’t give Poncho a chance, SteamSpy estimates its owners at 1-1.5k but I hope that this review helps more people to discover this game. P.S. For more awesome hidden gems, follow the steam [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/10722089/]CRIMINALLY Low Sales[/url] curator.

I remember when I first saw this game on Kickstarter but it didn't receive full funding. However, then I found out that some person/business entity decided to fully support the game so that it could be created. And when I first saw this game, I thought it looked amazing. The idea that you can switch between platforms like layers intrigued me. I love games like Monument Valley, Fez, and Sky Island (and Antichamber, though that is played in a first person perspective) because they are platform games that are trying to mess around with perspective. And Poncho's game mechanic of going between platforms is a cool way to play around with perspective. But this game could use some changes. Going between platforms can be frustrating, and I've already encountered a level where I can't get anywhere without waiting for a moving platform to show up. Respawning is also an issue, as sometimes you get respawned over an area with no ground and you fall to your death. Don't get me wrong, this game is beautiful, and some levels that I have began to play are good, but it's frustrating. Yes, this game has a cool mechanic, but it could use some work.

A nice little game, but it really feels a bit unfinished and is a bit buggy (menu, spawning in walls,...), and too short for this price tag. The graphics in some parts for the different grounds in the level are identical, so no chance without trial and error to find out where walls or platforms are. The cycles for the timed platforms in several parts are quite luck based, since you can't see them (and they are not synchronised), so again, trial and error, and a bit frustrating...

Pros: - A love letter to Fez that still brings its own charm and originality - Great soundtrack - Artwork and animations are well done - Neat parallax mechanic Cons: - Not much of a story, despite its potential beginnings - A lot of half-baked ideas that show signs that this should have had 3-6 months more development time - Vertical levels are downright frustrating, because you end up backtracking, especially the last level - The game is short, even while searching for secrets While this game has a lot of shortcomings, it's still worth playing for the right place. Got it very cheap on sale, so I wasn't disappointed.

Seemingly an unfinished product. Glitches abound and the game runs poorly including lagging and freezes. Audio creates regular popping sounds. The total game time to completion was 3 hours for me, missing only a few collectibles (which I am not completely convinced actually exist). Mechanics are introduced but then swiftly abandoned. For example, there is a shop, and it utilises a rather interesting idea for raising the prices and unlocking new stock. But every single item you can unlock is a key, and you only need a dozen throughout the entire game, which are largely just given to you. The mechanic seems pointless. Similarly, there is an upgrade system, but only two upgrades, both of which are "press Enter at this type of object to receive collectibles". Finally, there is an entire stage with the villain from the demo, only now he's just an NPC who trades robot collectibles for, you guessed it, useless keys. The stage design too seems rushed. Some stages, like the caves, the final tower and even the opening stage are fantastic. But others have utterly nothing to show the player. Puzzles come down to "press switch and jump on moving platform", except avatar momentum is not taken into account: moving platforms will slide from under you! One frustrating stage removes all parallax rendering it a blind exercise in guesswork. You literally cannot see the avatar nor obstacles unless you stand still and hold shift. No, this is not a darkness mechanic, you are in a lake. There is literally no reason for this! The game saddens me because it has moments of genuine genius and the core 2.5D warping mechanic has so much potential, but it seems the designers spent so much time on the downright gorgeous graphics (which sadly get in the way of gameplay all too often), that they neglected the underlying game (perhaps even more so than its clear inspiration, Fez). I feel bad that I cannot recommend the title because its clear that with a bit more time, a bit more funding, and some external playtesters and feedback, this could have turned into something incredible, but really, for the end consumer there are so many better, longer and more polished games out there at the same price point. Having said that, if its on sale, it might be worth picking up just for the strangely melancholy experience of wandering a truly beautiful world that never quite met its potential.

In it's current state, I can just barely recommend Poncho. The art is beautiful, the gameplay mechanics are solid, and the story is kinda touching. It's got a really good sense of adventure and exploration to it, which I like. But the game still needs a lot of polishing. There's tons of bugs, and the platforming physics are still pretty wonky. Often you'll respawn just to instantly die again. Or you'll mess up a jump because sloped platforms have wonky physics. Somestimes bits of background scenery just randomly disappear. Nothing gamebreaking overall, but it adds up and becomes very annoying. I completed the game, and would have liked to go for 100% completion, but I won't do that until the game is improved. Another tip for the dev: Can color-blind players tell the difference between the keys?