Poncho is a two-dimensional, semi open-world, scrolling platformer with puzzle-solving elements that takes place in a world where all humans have been eliminated, leaving only animals and a bunch of robot servants. You, the player, control one of these servant robots named Poncho. Your goal is to discover who your maker is and why humanity was wiped off the face of the world.
Indie platformer Poncho is a great concept marred by poor puzzle design.
There is no shortage of puzzle-platformers on the downloadable scene, each one with their own retro hook, so standing out from the rest of the scenery can be a daunting task. With one simple push of a button, however, the mechanized titular protagonist of Poncho, just released for the Wii U, can change his position within the pixellated, parallaxing world. Is this clever gameplay mechanic enough to bring himself (and hopefully his game) to the indie foreground?
EB: This is more than likely going to be a week of working through your video game backlog, because there really aren’t many “must-play” games releasing this week. That doesn’t mean that you can’t find a gem in this week’s new video game release lineup, so head on down below to see what’s cooking.