Poco

For a free game, this was so much fun. It scratched the whimsical, puzzle solving, art appreciating parts of my brain. I will warn that some of the mini games are rather challenging, and at one point I did have to restart because I did not get an item I was supposed to from a character interaction. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful way to spend my evening. :)

Such an adorable and lovely game, Poco is great! I think one of my first point and click games on steam, and I couldn't have asked for anything better! For free, the worst this game could do is be a waste of time for me, which I am delighted to say that it doesn't stick around any longer than it needed to, and actually left me wanting more! I don't see who wouldn't want to keep living in this fun and, actually fascinating little world the developers have crafted here. The artstyle is made of pure joy and whimsy and I will not accept any other explanation lol, because its true! It's so cute! It's so creative and interesting, feeling like your inside the mind of a kid playing with toys and nick nacks in their backyard, with the claymation-like 3D modeling, the chalk pastel/painted backdrops, the scrappy, trashy architecture akin to what you would see in an 'I-Spy' book, I love all of it, its awesome. Sound design and the soundtrack are just as polished and whimsical. The soundtrack containing light and beautiful sweeping strings, xylophones, and triangles one minute, then entrancing and etherical synths and percussion that all accentuates the vastness of this strange overgrown world we're dropped into. All that to say the music and sound design do very, very well at supporting the games theme of a small, strange and mystical world. ('Hymn for the Homunculi' is a highlight in this regard). Gameplay and story were both very entertaining, characters were all fun and intriguing, puzzles were actually engaging, the point-and-click aspect was never drawn out or boring to me due to the map being relatively small, animations were expressive, genuinely a standout game for me this summer even with such a short runtime. I really am just at a point where I have nothing else to say other than you just have to play the game! 8.5/10, Poco's little bell jingling with his waddling was melting my HEART!!!