Pompom

released on Mar 14, 2022

Out of the hamster wheel and into space, Pompom is on a mission to save his boy Hoshi from the claws of Captain Cat and his wicked crew. Chase down each of the Space Cat Pirates, building platforms as you go. Use whatever it takes: springs, whips, umbrellas, cannons... Nothing can stop Pompom!


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dont rly have it in me to learn my way around the difficulty curve atm, but this is the kind of super aesthetically charming and mechanically Outside My Wheelhouse thing that makes having a whole category of my backlog for "weird shit i dont know anything about" a fruitful and productive exercise. reminds me of nitrome

This is one of those rare games that I couldn't really enjoy but still like.
I'm not sure exactly what it is, maybe it's the entire concept of reverse platformer, or just this particular implementation of it in real time that makes it extremely chaotic and surprisingly reflex-based even with the time stop that makes it hard to have fun with.
However Pompom really goes hard on its concept, every level is a goldmine of a new ways to explore it and this combined with the challenging difficulty means the game is never boring, but it can easily get frustrating.
Ultimately I'm a bit on the fence about recommending it, I think if you're going in you need to do it with an explorative mindset (like you could do in a museum), it's worth seeing all the different twists it has on its own concept, even if the gameplay itself isn't perfect.

This game is oozing with charm. And somehow one of the hardest games I've played recently, holy crap. This game needs you to plan ahead with some trial and error with very little reaction time. Not unfair most of the time per se, just demanding.

A 1980s throwback SNES style game that flourishes with creative ideas in its level design, look and tracks, so much so it's commendable. However, the same cannot be said about the autoscrolling aspect that leaves little reaction time, the unforgiving checkpoint placement and the difficult to collect coins.

A good throwback to the SNES era with some tough levels. Each one was brimming with new ideas and barely reused concepts. It makes me wonder why 2D Mario has terrible bosses. Some of those later levels, though, I felt like my grapple wasn't attaching instantly on click, but that might just be me.

I liked the visuals, the music and the mechanics of this game but it's FUCKING HARD. I just couldn't complete the later worlds even when activating third try and bigger time freeze. that beging said, the design is great, the worlds don't repeat mechanics and there's always something new to discover. Like I said, I enjoyed the first worlds better than the last ones because of the difficulty. But it is an overall interesting game that we don't see many of this type. I don't expect you to understand battleship grades but I'd give this game a D8.