Cheerful new family-friendly Steam co-op platformer with challenging puzzles launches with discount and "Very Positive" Steam rating
Popucom is a colourful new platformer that is designed around co-op gameplay and teamwork. The game launched on Steam on June 1, and it has since racked up an impressive "Very Positive" rating on Steam. The game's central mechanics all revolve around colour, but the developer has added a number of interesting tweaks to the puzzle-platformer to make it stand out from the rest. It helps that Popucom is quite affordable, at only $17.99 after the 10% launch discount on Steam.
Popucom gameplay and reviews
The core of Popucom is a classic puzzle-platformer that makes players solve environmental puzzles and traverse a colourful world in order to move ahead. However, Popucom is co-op only, meaning players will have to either join up in an online party or host a split-screen game for couch co-op — this makes it a great family game. Popucom's puzzles often play on the typical match-3 formula, where moving objects or placing things in a specific order is the key to success, but there are also more challenging environmental puzzles that will make players rely on their friends and timing and ingenuity to succeed. Many of the puzzles rely on colour, but players will also collect items along the way that will be necessary to solve some of the puzzles or eliminate obstacles.
As you might imagine, combat isn't the central focus of Popucom, but there is still no shortage of it to be had, from brief enemy encounters to epic bullet-hell style boss battles. As you explore the strange new planet you find yourself on, you will face myriad enemies and "restore the world to its former glory." Visually, the world of Popucom is vibrant and interesting, with somewhat basic character and environmental designs set against epic views of the surrounding skyscape.
Despite having only launched on Steam a week ago, Popucom has made quite a splash, with a total of 1,000 reviews already published and a "Very Positive" review rating. The majority of the positive reviews praise Popucom for its charming art style, addictive and innovative gameplay, challenging, thoughtful puzzles, and the surprising inclusion of a colourblind mode.
The early access demo of Popucom was compatible with the Steam Deck, but something seems to have been broken when the game launched fully, so anyone looking to play it on-the-go will have to turn to something like the Lenovo Legion Go (curr. $699.99 from Lenovo US) or Asus ROG Ally.
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