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Gamescom 2015: Poncho's Story is Darker Than You Think (Wii U)

by Daan Koopman - September 21, 2015, 4:44 pm EDT
Total comments: 1

One little robot with one big quest to find his true place in the world.

When I first caught wind of Poncho, I was immediately in love with the concept. It seemed to be about this cute robot who was exploring a large pixelated landscape. After watching a video of it, I knew that I wanted to play it as soon as possible. That chance came at Gamescom 2015, where the game was shown as part of the Nindies booth. I played through the demo with glee and explored a side of it that raised my interest even further.

Poncho tells the dark story set after the end of the world. Humans are nowhere to be found, and the robots are completely on their own. They’ve formed tribes and are binding together to be the new masters of the earth. There isn't much of the original civilization left, with mostly ruins standing everywhere you look. Mother Nature has taken hold mostly, and green populates the earth. It is filled with creatures everywhere, each of them acting in their own ways.

Between all of this madness, there is one poncho-wearing robot who is simply asking questions. He wants to know who his creator is, and if he would be able to find him. After a vision tells him where he needs to go, Poncho sets off on a huge adventure. He dives into a world he never explored before, and Poncho will find new friends and foes along this journey. His ultimate goal is to find his true place in life and why the humans have completely vanished.

Poncho is, at a quick glance, a puzzle-platformer. There is an intriguing shifting mechanic where you move between three different layers and time your movement perfectly. While we have seen games use this type of magic, Poncho forces you to think every step of the way. You don't get it given to you and exploration is key in all of this. Noticing the details in the environments is essential to push yourself forward in this broad landscape.

That landscape is the selling point of Poncho. There is a beginning and an end, but between those borders, you are free to explore at your own leisure. During the demo that I got to play, this caused me to constantly focus on my surroundings. Creatures react to what Poncho does, and you have to play with them to get the job done. The openness of the game will certainly not appeal to everyone, as it is unusual from other games in the genre. Poncho was striking and appealing in its set-up, which made it very likeable.

The puzzles themselves are, of course, the star of the show. While the opening moments do not focus on them too much, that changes bit by bit. You have to judge jumps and quickly move into a different plane to enter new sections. Another part had me searching the perfect holes in the environment, so that Poncho could escape a rather complicated obstacle. There was a good mix of brain teasers and twitchy platforms to ensure a good time, which I hope can carry through in the actual product.

As far as the presentation is concerned, this game is already a winner. It is a bright and colorful pixel world that I wanted to explore and uncover. Everything from trees to the characters are perfectly rendered and it is clear that the developers aren't cutting corners.

Poncho is one of the more promising games that will be released this year. While we have to see how the full experience turns out, the taste that I got makes me want it more. The gameplay feels very solid and the presentation is perfectly put together. I can only hope that it will be released soon, so that I can hang out with that robot buddy even longer.

Talkback

azekeSeptember 21, 2015

Yep, looks pretty good.

Structure superficially is somewhat similar to Toki Tori 2 (solve puzzles to advance and explore big interconnected world) but actual gameplay is actually closer to Fez.

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Genre Adventure
Developer Delve Interactive
Players1

Worldwide Releases

na: Poncho
Release Aug 18, 2016
PublisherRising Star Games Limited
RatingEveryone
eu: Poncho
Release Year 2015
PublisherRising Star Games Limited

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