Developer: Potata Company
Publisher: Potata Company
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Potata: fairy flower – Review
It’s not always easy for developers to establish themselves in the gaming market and gain a foothold from the get-go. Potata Company, in particular, is clearly putting a lot of stock in their debut game, hence the name. What looks like a simple platform adventure quickly reveals itself to have various interesting elements that distinguish it from other indie games in the genre, even if other parts make it clear Potata is a little too rough around the edges to be anything but a developer’s first attempt.
Story
There surely is a story here to explore, but sadly it is presented in a rather confusing way, making it hard to understand at first. After a short opening cutscene (which turns out to be a dream), we are introduced to Potata. She’s a clumsy witch who feels slightly out of place in her village and often gets up to no good. Her mother sends her into the forest in search of ingredients for a potion (and berries for berry pie) and she predictably enough ends up finding a strange portal instead. An epic quest begins, where Potata will need to collect six flower petals to restore a magical flower. Most of the story is to be found in the dialogue between Potata and various NPCs, though the writing lacks proper explanation and often seems to come out of nowhere, mentioning objects or events you haven’t heard of before. Combined with the translation errors that snuck in, we can’t blame you for not realizing what is going on all the time.
Graphics
Potata shines in the graphics department, with an art style that is both vibrant and absolutely adorable. It’s hard not to fall in love with the characters when they all look like they come straight out of a picture book and the designs are very creative. The environments look great too, in this paint-like style and with the background having a slightly darker-toned hue it is easy to see which objects are meant for platforming and which ones are just here for decoration. There’s enough variety to keep the player interested.
Sound
The music in this game might pleasantly surprise you. The upbeat Celtic music feels like it comes straight out of the soundtrack of an epic fantasy movie and while there is a limited amount of tracks, their repetitiveness does not become obnoxious. Besides this, the game is filled with the standard sound effects for things such as destroying boxes or opening treasure chests, which might make you nostalgic for classic platformers. There is no voice acting in the game.
Gameplay
Potata is a platform adventure game where each level has a semi-linear set-up. This means that while there are different paths to explore, you will also often find yourself in front of an obstacle that will force you to solve a puzzle or find a certain item before continuing. Because of this, the game can still control how far you are able to proceed, while at the same time having plenty of optional items to gather if you are so inclined.
The gameplay itself is typical platformer stuff, with you having Potata run around the levels jumping over obstacles or across gaps, bouncing on mushrooms and climbing ladders. Potata has a wooden sword so most enemies aren’t a problem for her either, though not all of them can be killed. Sometimes you will need to solve simple puzzles like moving blocks to stand on or activating levers you can find around the map. There are also some harder puzzles in the form of big screens where you will need to play either a Tetris game or color squares certain colors. While these are a lot harder than they sound, you sometimes have the opportunity to skip them if you’re willing to spend the money and have an NPC solve them for you. This isn’t always an option though.
An interesting change is that you also need money to save at altars. The game does have some regular checkpoints, but an extra save after obtaining a hard to get item will probably come in handy, because when you die, you lose everything you collected since your last save. Luckily money is in ample supply, taking the form of blue rocks scattered all over the level. Other items you can find are needed to progress, such as planks to cross a ravine. The ultimate goal for each level is to collect the flower petal at the end. There is also something almost akin to boss battles in the game. Nothing fancy, but some levels will have you suddenly get locked in one screen, where you will be attacked and need to evade the deadly projectiles thrown at you.
Conclusion
Potata has a lot going for it between the casual but enjoyable gameplay and pretty graphics and music. Sadly the story leaves something to be desired and it’s hard to bond with the characters or setting if you are more often than not confused about who they are or what is happening. This aside though, anybody who enjoys platform adventure games will probably have fun with this, even if the puzzles can be surprisingly hard at times.
No Comments