Developer: Delve Interactive
Publisher: Rising Star Games
Platform: PC, PS4, Wii U (soon), PS Vita (soon)
Tested on: PC
PONCHO – Review
Robots have always been a topic by which us human beings have been fascinated. When looking back at our past, one of the most iconic movies ever about robots has been made in the 1920’s, namely Metropolis. In 2001 this movie even received an anime adaptation, where everything revolved around our future world and of course, the implementation of the many different robots that could aid us in our daily tasks, among other things. PONCHO takes us even further into the future, where humankind seems to be extinct and only robots roam the earth in a dystopian world where emptiness reigns supreme.
Story
Humankind has been wiped off our planet and only the remnants of their once prospering society remain. Nature has slowly been retaking Earth, while upholding a symbiosis with the structures our organic presence has left behind. Nonetheless, somewhere in the midst of a lab, a small robot wakes up, while hearing the voice of its maker. This little fella sets out on a journey through the deserted lands, only to come across other robotic life forms who seemingly think they’re the new human race or still ponder about what has transpired in the past. Everything leads to finding your maker, albeit the chances are very slim he/she is still alive.
While the overall settings often speak for themselves when roaming around in PONCHO, the story value is quite slim when playing through the game itself. At the beginning you’ll get a small introduction, but only at the end things will get thoroughly explained, while having to make a choice for the grand finale. Even with the low story value the game tends to get you where it hurts the most at the ending.
Robots have always been a topic by which us human beings have been fascinated. When looking back at our past, one of the most iconic movies ever about robots has been made in the 1920’s, namely Metropolis. In 2001 this movie even received an anime adaptation, where everything revolved around our future world and of course, the implementation of the many different robots that could aid us in our daily tasks, among other things. PONCHO takes us even further into the future, where humankind seems to be extinct and only robots roam the earth in a dystopian world where emptiness reigns supreme.
Graphics
PONCHO is presented in a very retro pixilated style that resembles that of the mid nineties, when the SNES and Megadrive (Genesis) still handed out the shots. Nonetheless, this barren place void of all organic life looks amazing in this style, albeit with a limited amount of inhabitants which lack a bit of variety. The environments however may look similar from time to time, there is still sufficient variety for you to stop moving around and enjoy the backdrops this small title has to offer. That being said, PONCHO himself steals the show with his adorable look, and of course him being clad in his cute red poncho. All in all, the graphical style of this game is spot on, which makes it feel a lot more authentic than one could imagine, especially in terms of originality and as a homage to older stories about the end of the world.
As the game uses different dimensions, namely the foreground and background, things have to be rather clear, as you’ll have to switch between them a lot. While everything is actually very transparent for the most part, sometimes certain objects can obstruct your view, causing you to get a skewed view of your location, making it hard to assess the next jump or switch.
Sound
Just like the graphics, the movie and sound effects of PONCHO have a retro vibe surrounding them, whilst never actually resorting to 8-bit quality music. The score is fitting for the entire game, as it tends to vary a lot for each of the levels the game has to offer. While most of the time the tunes take you to a relaxing state, a few of the tracks tend to get your blood pumping. Overall, even without a storytelling section, the music does a wonderful job in lifting up your spirit, while roaming around in a world that no longer supports human life.
Gameplay
PONCHO is a puzzle-platformer which uses the foreground and background in order to progress through the levels. In some ways this reminds of the mechanics of Donkey Kong Country Returns, albeit properly implemented and tweaked in order to provide a fluent transition between the different playing fields.
Truth be told, after the tutorial level the game pretty much feels straightforward, as you’ll only be concerning yourself with jumping, shifting through the different ‘dimensions’, collecting keys, currency and resurrect the faithful followers of the ‘Scrap-king’. While the game may lack enemies, it never gets dull, as the platforming of the game proves to be solid, as well as the use of the foreground/background mechanics, which this game is all about.
Other than the final level and a few sequences, PONCHO is actually a very relaxing title, as the game doesn’t really punish you when you fall into the abyss. Sadly, dying comes with a few bugs, as the game often respawns you on a spot where you will die several times in a row, as you are sometimes placed in a moveable object. Other than that, the game doesn’t force you to backtrack that much, as you can purchase keys with the currency you collected, in case you miss a fair amount of keys when trying to reach the end goal of the level you’re in.
We were sad to see that PONCHO only had roughly ten levels, which can be cleared in roughly ten minutes, making this a very short game. Of course, completionists will have their pick of the litter, if they wish to collect all the keys, tokens and the scrap-king followers, but all in all, this game should have been longer to provide an even more satisfying experience.
The only regrettable part about the game is the fact that when you complete it, you cannot revisit the old levels, if you wish to find everything that has been hidden. Due to the shortness of the game, it’s easy to start all over, but it would have been nice if you could simply go back.
Conclusion
PONCHO is above all a very enjoyable experience, even with the difficulty gap right at the end of the game. The game proves to be a dystopian paradise (contradiction, we know), for those who are looking for something retro, with its heart in the right place. PONCHO proves to be captivating and an emotional experience, we only wished it would last a tad longer, especially for its retail price.
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