Pankapu (2016)

Pankapu is a remarkable game, with a charismatic look and an interesting background very well wrapped up with phases with good overall design, variety of situations and noteworthy final bosses. The progression of the character is well accomplished and also perfectly orchestrated with situations where skills are used and exploited. It does everything it sets out well without dazzling anything, but it's fun and varied enough to be enjoyed from start to finish.

Pankapu has interesting elements in its favour. The game's plot and the way it is presented is certainly one of them and its well crafted visuals add to the flavour. At the same time, the level design feels too repetitive and the game doesn't really feel like it offers anything new, as Penkapu's good story telling and visuals end up outshining almost everything else about the game.

With my time spent on this little platformer, I have developed a bit of a soft spot for Pankapu. We have been through a great deal together. The world of dreams ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there if you let it.

The bright and distinct visuals are incredibly appealing and the audio is pretty decent, too, which really helps Pankapu sink its claws into you as you play. It really channels the ‘one more go' type of play, and this is why I would recommend the game. Sure, it's not original in its gameplay mechanics, but it's just a solid, good game that harkens back to the days of playability being key.

There is no doubt that Pankapu has a beautiful art style with a lot of attention given to the character animations, but unfortunately it also suffers with clunky controls and awkward difficulty spikes.