Poinpy review - "A compelling quest for fruit that's well worth your time"

Downwell creator Ojiro Fumoto has crafted a new masterpiece called Poinpy - something that made me want to hoard fruits to appease an angry beast whose hunger knows no bounds. While the game concept is absolutely ridiculous, I still wanted to pacify that beast-god with a penchant for fruit juices because I've angered it somehow.

Now, I must pay for my transgressions by stealing fresh fruit from unwitting fruit servers that look like blueberries. Will Poinpy have that same effect on you?

Table of contents:

• Poinpy visuals
• Poinpy gameplay
• Poinpy verdict

POINPY VISUALS

The roguelite Netflix exclusive features vibrant 2D artwork with colourful characters and charming environments, all likely made to give you a false sense of security as you begin your upward journey. Poinpy's adorable characters - from random insects minding their own business to the actual blob-like fire-breathing beast thingy out to get you from below - might make you feel like the game is a totally chill and low-key experience, but looks can be deceiving.

 

While the visuals do look lovely, you'll still feel the pressure of grabbing as much fruit as you can before you fall to your fiery demise below.

THE GAMEPLAY OF POINPY

Poinpy's goal is simple - collect fruit from recipes and feed them to the beast you purposely woke up in the first place. You'll have to jump upward endlessly to collect fruits scattered throughout the portrait-oriented screen, all while avoiding obstacles and making sure you collect the fruits before the timer runs out.

Controls are a one-thumb affair - you'll simply have to pull back to launch into the air and bounce off walls (and enemies) at an angle. You can also reverse this in the settings - a feature I greatly appreciated - so you can drag up to jump rather than the other way around. There's also a Puzzle Mode you can unlock towards the right side of the screen, where you can complete certain challenges if you're looking for a bit of variety from the main campaign.

WHAT'S THE APPEAL?

While the first few runs can be challenging, hard work and perseverance can really pay off in this game, as you'll be able to collect seeds you can use to redeem boons at a nearby gacha machine. You can equip these power-ups to help make your next run less of a struggle and more of a thrill. These advantages include higher jumps, unlimited slow-mo "bullet time" between leaps, the ability to collect nearby fruits when you slam onto the ground and more.

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I'm not the most coordinated gamer, and my reflexes need some work especially when there's a timer involved. But somehow, Poinpy managed to keep me hooked and motivated enough to try and try again, because once those equipable boons started coming in, every new attempt became a more rewarding experience.

I can't for the life of me understand how something that should have frustrated me actually became so darn enjoyable. I kept trying to collect those fruit juices like a madwoman, wondering why I even woke the beast in the first place. But when it finally burns me to a crisp and it's game over, I find myself wanting to anger the beast and start my fruit-collecting journey all over again.