Kinda funny that Daniel Mullins makes the same game every time. Would've thought this was really cool if I hadn't already played Inscryption, but I have, and its bag of tricks is more devious than this one's (and wrapped in a legitimately good card game instead of an uninteresting runner and puzzle game).
kinda one trick with its puzzles and stories but. its still fun and the secret ending is great
Güzel oyun ama çok da abartmayın.
What
Ultimately harmless, way less annoying than a lot of other early indie attempts at meta-narrative, but the themes feel very lazy, despite it pairing with the artstyle quite well, and all of the "game" parts feel like busywork rather than play. It's cute, funny, and has more jesus-killing than a lot of games ultimately should have, so there's clearly a reason why the let's play phenomenon latched onto this so tightly. Doesn't really stand much of a chance to criticism these days though.
This review contains spoilers
my opinion is similar to that of a lot of other users on here; this game pulls many of the tricks that inscryption does with about half of the success. i feel a little sorry for the thing since it will live in inscryption's shadow forever, but it's pretty clear how it fails where inscryption succeeds.
first, the villain sort of flip-flops from being frightening to goofy, and once i realized that, a lot of the plot points lose their weight. i just... don't feel threatened by this guy, even if he is Lucifer. of course the silliness is on purpose, and the way his character sort of pokes fun at game designers is amusing. in inscryption, however (at least for a while) the man in the cabin is frightening. also, i don't think satan is really that scary. (am i going to hell for that?)
the next issue, which matters way more, is that the game(s) that underlie all of this haunted arcade cabinet meta wackiness is just not very good. (subjectively) playing a platformer with the left and right mouse buttons feels bad, and while mullins/lucifer throws in new mechanics at a steady rate, none of them make me WANT to play pony island. of course, the game being GOOD would make all of the "Lucifer is a shitty game designer" jokes not work, but like, if you purposely made this game bad on purpose for the plot.......idk man that's a can of worms.
the other game, which revolves around getting a key from one part of fake assembly code to another is more enjoyable. it's a strange puzzle game that feels a bit like a falling block puzzle and something like pipe dream injected with a little bit of programming fun (breaks, if statements, incrementing variables). it's good, but not captivating.
the meta stuff, which i suppose we're all here for, is up to par. there's one bit i like in particular *go to bottom for spoilers*, and prying into the lore with the Cave of Secrets (or whatever it's called) provides some interesting background on your character, but it really wasn't enough to win me over as a Pony Island fan.
my take is: play inscryption instead -- it's a perfect time of year for some creepypasta, and it's got better writing, better gameplay, and a whole lot more mind-blowing tricks.
spoilers *where they fake a steam message
first, the villain sort of flip-flops from being frightening to goofy, and once i realized that, a lot of the plot points lose their weight. i just... don't feel threatened by this guy, even if he is Lucifer. of course the silliness is on purpose, and the way his character sort of pokes fun at game designers is amusing. in inscryption, however (at least for a while) the man in the cabin is frightening. also, i don't think satan is really that scary. (am i going to hell for that?)
the next issue, which matters way more, is that the game(s) that underlie all of this haunted arcade cabinet meta wackiness is just not very good. (subjectively) playing a platformer with the left and right mouse buttons feels bad, and while mullins/lucifer throws in new mechanics at a steady rate, none of them make me WANT to play pony island. of course, the game being GOOD would make all of the "Lucifer is a shitty game designer" jokes not work, but like, if you purposely made this game bad on purpose for the plot.......idk man that's a can of worms.
the other game, which revolves around getting a key from one part of fake assembly code to another is more enjoyable. it's a strange puzzle game that feels a bit like a falling block puzzle and something like pipe dream injected with a little bit of programming fun (breaks, if statements, incrementing variables). it's good, but not captivating.
the meta stuff, which i suppose we're all here for, is up to par. there's one bit i like in particular *go to bottom for spoilers*, and prying into the lore with the Cave of Secrets (or whatever it's called) provides some interesting background on your character, but it really wasn't enough to win me over as a Pony Island fan.
my take is: play inscryption instead -- it's a perfect time of year for some creepypasta, and it's got better writing, better gameplay, and a whole lot more mind-blowing tricks.
spoilers *where they fake a steam message
Los puzles en los que te sientes programador >>>
It's basic as hell and for the most part with zero subtlety, but this is a game where it's immediately established that it's made by literally the Devil himself, who also turns out to be pretty shit at programming. A fun and creative ride from start to finish, even if with little reason to ever revisit it.
This game was a hell of a lot of fun to stream! I followed it right after the previous game and I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to think in regards to this game immediately apart from that it's pretty damn brilliant. It starts off innocently enough with playing a fun little game about being a pony and jumping over barriers, ect, but it soon begins to devolve into something absolutely insane!
My video for my first impressions of it
This is one of those games that attempting to explain it is difficult, but it's a hell of a experience that you won't soon forget.
My video for my first impressions of it
This is one of those games that attempting to explain it is difficult, but it's a hell of a experience that you won't soon forget.
Ta bien
"is this ludonarrative sonnance or what?" I say as my 3 neurons cheer me on
Está lindo, te lo pasas rápido y es bastante meta. La traducción guay pero me jodió bastante una respuesta en la que tiene una palabra con tilde QUE SOLO TE LA ACEPTA SI NO TIENE TILDE.
interesting idea ig but boring as shit and needing to stop the puzzles in real time is annoying
Not enough ponies
So good! Could use more Ponies tho
A bit of a one trick pony (hah). The fourth wall breaking and meta narrative are very fun, but the whole game leans on it, there is no quality to the actual text.
Very indifferent to this. It's probably because in 2023 this game doesn't bring anything all that unique to the table. Mullins loves his meta shit but I'm starting to wonder if he's capable of anything else.
Although this game is quite similar to the others from this creator, I still enjoyed the journey and watching for the wild "it's not what it seems" twists. The final section builds momentum in a great way for a very satisfying conclusion. My one critique is that it feels a bit one-note mechanically, so it can drag a bit in the middle, but for a two-hour experience, I really can't complain. Still well-worth the time spent.
Pep's Season of "Spooks" - Game 8
Nah, sorry, this just isn't for me.
With all the satanic themes I mistakenly thought this was a horror game, but I actually tricked myself into playing - gasp - a puzzle game!
I can just about handle regular Resident Evil-style puzzles but all the codes and swapping the icons around quickly just melts my brain. A shame too, since I think the overall concept is pretty neat.
Not a bad game, just not for me, and doesn't really belong on my season of horror games. Moving on!
Scary Rating N/A - Overall Rating N/A
Nah, sorry, this just isn't for me.
With all the satanic themes I mistakenly thought this was a horror game, but I actually tricked myself into playing - gasp - a puzzle game!
I can just about handle regular Resident Evil-style puzzles but all the codes and swapping the icons around quickly just melts my brain. A shame too, since I think the overall concept is pretty neat.
Not a bad game, just not for me, and doesn't really belong on my season of horror games. Moving on!
Scary Rating N/A - Overall Rating N/A
Daniel Mullins game. It is good.
Satan programming pony gaming
Tremendamente original y divertido. Si bien los juegos malditos, que rompen la cuarta pared, etc ya eran un concepto existente para cuando salió, Pony Island pone toda la carne en el asador, llevando su concepto más allá y sorprendiendo con una gran variedad de giros y trucos.
El gameplay es muy variado pero siempre sencillo y fácil de aprender. Hay algunas partes en las que capaz se llega a hacer repetitivo si te ponen varias pantallas con el gameplay endless runner, pero en general suele tener suficientes variaciones y giros de 180° como para que no llegue a ser molesto.
Toda la parte meta del juego me pareció muy bien lograda, y en algún momento hasta me agarraron desprevenido respecto a si lo que estaba pasando era real o parte del juego.
Es una experiencia muy corta pero también muy disfrutable, realmente me género mucho interés por ver qué más tienen para ofrecer los juegos de Daniel Mullins.
El gameplay es muy variado pero siempre sencillo y fácil de aprender. Hay algunas partes en las que capaz se llega a hacer repetitivo si te ponen varias pantallas con el gameplay endless runner, pero en general suele tener suficientes variaciones y giros de 180° como para que no llegue a ser molesto.
Toda la parte meta del juego me pareció muy bien lograda, y en algún momento hasta me agarraron desprevenido respecto a si lo que estaba pasando era real o parte del juego.
Es una experiencia muy corta pero también muy disfrutable, realmente me género mucho interés por ver qué más tienen para ofrecer los juegos de Daniel Mullins.
CRISTO ES REY CRISTO ES REY
good game frfr fr
This review contains spoilers
Asmodeus goes err
Not a huge fan of it myself, mostly into the lore that spans over multiple of the mullins games. However the sequel does look extremely promising
Juego meta que, sinceramente, solo jugué como antesala a Inscryption. No es mi estilo de juego para nada, pero reconozco que tiene sus toques originales y no se te hace pesado en ningún momento.
Solo dura dos horillas, por lo que de una buena sentada te lo puedes completar. No tiene mala narrativa, es bastante bueno dentro de su género, tiene algún detalle bastante curioso y no está mal, pero no lo recomendaría a alguien a quien no le hagan gracia "ese" tipo de juego que es Pony Island.
Además tiene una referencia a la canción de Malcolm in the Middle, que siempre suma.
Solo dura dos horillas, por lo que de una buena sentada te lo puedes completar. No tiene mala narrativa, es bastante bueno dentro de su género, tiene algún detalle bastante curioso y no está mal, pero no lo recomendaría a alguien a quien no le hagan gracia "ese" tipo de juego que es Pony Island.
Además tiene una referencia a la canción de Malcolm in the Middle, que siempre suma.
Lucifer himself made a game about ponies, butterflies and kiling Jesus. Biblical accurate.
Managed to fully trick me a couple times, great twists even if the gameplay and puzzles are a bit lacking
I killed Jesus. Twice.
7.5/10
7.5/10