Pankapu Review Summary

A solid platformer with stunning, colorful cartoon art, though clunky controls, unreliable jumping, and severe input lag hold it back.

Solid overall platformer experience: Players widely agree the game is a good, decent platformer with fun moments and enjoyable gameplay. While it has flaws, most consider it well-made and full of potential.

Stunning art direction praised: The art direction is frequently highlighted as the game's strongest point, delivering visually stunning and cohesive aesthetics. Reviewers repeatedly describe the game as beautiful and gorgeous.

Beautiful and colorful cartoon visuals: Many reviewers love the vibrant, colorful cartoon style with smooth animations. The hand-drawn visuals and clever color coordination are especially appreciated.

Great music and soundtrack: The soundtrack is consistently described as good, beautiful, and fitting the dreamlike fairy-tale setting. Though some find it merely decent, the overall reception is positive.

Well-paced and fair difficulty: Difficulty starts easy and ramps up smoothly, with a fair progression that is approachable yet satisfying. It avoids being frustratingly hard while remaining moderately challenging.

Clunky, Uncomfortable Controls: Controls are frequently criticized as clunky, awkward, or uncomfortable. Players report poor responsiveness and significant problems with general control feel.

Unreliable Jumping Mechanics: Jumping is inconsistent: the same input sometimes produces a short jump and sometimes a full jump without clear indication. Holding the jump button does not reliably yield a higher jump, and the auto-jump on landing is irritating.

Boring, Unengaging Story: Many players describe the story as boring, uninteresting, or bland. Some note it is long-winded and drags down the overall experience.

Bad Key Bindings: Key bindings are considered terrible and awkwardly arranged, with complaints about specific poor choices like A and E for page turning. The inability to customize them makes the issue worse.

Frustrating, Tedious Gameplay: Players find the game tiring and frustrating, with gameplay that becomes tedious and irritating over time. This is especially pronounced in later sections.

2D side-scrolling action platformer: Players consistently describe the game as a 2D side-scrolling action platformer with jumping, combat, and upgrades. It is primarily a platformer with melee attacks, shielding, and moving platforms.

Hidden secrets and collectibles: Levels contain hidden secrets and collectibles to find, including memory collectibles and glowing characters. Collecting everything may require replaying levels.

Difficult boss fights require skill: Boss fights are a core mechanic and require memorization, careful timing, and developing tactics. They are considered difficult and often demand multiple attempts.

Character switching between three forms: Players can switch between three characters or forms: Warrior, Archer, and Thief/Mage. This real-time switching is a core mechanic.

Precision platforming and combat: The game features precision platforming sequences, vertical sections, and deliberate sword combat. Levels are designed around platforming challenges with varied mechanics.

Severe input lag issues: Multiple reports describe significant input delay and unresponsiveness, including a 0.5-second delay on attacks and jumps. These problems make gameplay frustrating and lead to frequent deaths.

Frequent crashes and freezes: Players report crashes during the opening animation and frequent freezes that make the game unresponsive. This severely impacts the ability to play.

Lag and performance problems: The game suffers from poor optimization, terrible lag, and occasional lag causing delayed character responses. This affects overall playability.

Minor physics and hitbox issues: Some players note minor hitbox or physics inaccuracies, such as jumps not completing, which can affect precision platforming.

Linux framerate cap: On Linux, the framerate is capped at 60Hz/fps, limiting performance for users on that platform.

Too frustrating or difficult for some: Some players find the game not worth finishing or too demanding, with challenging platforming and uneven difficulty. It may not suit those seeking a relaxing experience.

Not recommended for purchase: Several reviewers explicitly do not recommend buying or playing the game. They advise against it for most potential buyers.

Worth a try despite flaws: Some reviewers consider it worth giving a chance or a try, even if it's not perfect. It may still offer some enjoyment for open-minded players.

Recommended for platformer fans: Many reviewers strongly recommend the game to enthusiasts of the platformer genre, noting upgrades and solid design. It is seen as a safe pick for those who already enjoy 2D action-platformers.

Suitable for casuals and children: The game is recommended especially for casual players, younger audiences, and those new to gaming. Its simple and approachable nature appeals to less experienced players.

Community fair range: $4.99 - $9.99.

Game completion: 15.0h.

Story completion: 6.0h.

Session length: 0.5h.

Pankapu has a mixed time-to-fun profile: many players are put off by clunky controls, boring early pacing, and difficulty spikes, but some report that it becomes more enjoyable in later sections.

Friction: Clunky controls and inconsistent jumping; Boring and slow early progression; Uneven difficulty spikes and demanding precision; Repetitive platforming and level design; Long stretches of precise jumps between save points; Collectibles required for level progression.

Unlock drivers: Persisting through the boring early portion, after which the second half becomes more rewarding; Continued progress, as the game gets better the further you go; A system layer adding strategy and variety that helps prevent repetitiveness as levels become demanding.

Metroidvania Platformer Enthusiast: Backtracks and replays levels after gaining abilities, compares mechanics to Rayman and Trine, and seeks satisfying platforming and exploration. Motivation: Enjoying creative 2D platforming and Metroidvania-style exploration with character-switching. Stance: buy.

Casual Relaxed Platformer Player: Plays in short, casual sessions, often ignores the story, and prefers easy-to-moderate platforming. Motivation: Relaxing with a visually pleasing, quick platformer without a heavy story commitment. Stance: buy.

Completionist Challenge Veteran: Grinds achievements, does completionist runs, and seeks hard traps and challenging platforming. Motivation: Overcoming old-school challenge and completing every achievement. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: User feedback on the Steam Deck experience is dominated by control-related friction: the default key mapping is repeatedly described as sluggish, imprecise, and uncomfortable, with some players quitting within half an hour. The experience becomes acceptable only after manually enabling 'Steam Input' or editing the controls, which places the title in the 'Tinkering Required' tier. An additional isolated but severe report describes the launcher restarting four times in eight minutes, indicating launch-level instability. Positively, the game runs smoothly on Linux at a 60 FPS cap with good visuals, and the in-game peripheral control hints help mitigate the mapping confusion.

Linux and Proton: The available Linux-related feedback is mostly positive: the game is described as running very smoothly on Linux, with no reports of launch failures, Proton tweaks, anti-cheat/DRM issues, or major instability. The only Linux-specific caveat is a 60 FPS framerate cap, which is a minor limitation rather than a compatibility blocker.

Comparisons to Other Platformers: Reviewers compare the game to various platformers such as Ori and the Blind Forest, Mega Man, Castlevania, and Super Meat Boy. Some find it lacking, while others note its unique feel.

Free Acquisition Dominates Feedback: A large portion of reviewers obtained the game for free, including permanent free copies, limited-time free promotions, and free keys from merchants. This suggests the game's reception may be heavily influenced by its free availability.

Ending Hints at Sequel: Multiple reviewers note that the ending feels like a sequel was planned, ending on a cliffhanger or leaving room for a potential Pankapu 2. Some express uncertainty about whether a sequel will ever materialize.

Achievement Completion Time: Reviewers report varying times to complete all achievements, ranging from about 15 to 20 hours, with some noting it takes around 10-12 hours to clear the game. The achievements are described as simple but may require some grinding.

Price and Value Concerns: At $12 with DLC raising the total to $19, some reviewers feel the game is overpriced compared to other titles like Hollow Knight and Undertale. However, others consider it a fair price, especially when on sale.