Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 61 | 7 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 15 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 64% | 63 | 100 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 0% | 15 | 0 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 1 reviews sampled · 1 total reviews in window · weighted 0 up / 0.4 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (20)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 60
“Credit must be given to Delve Interactive for encouraging exploration in a genre that is regularly perceived as one of the most linear gaming experiences on offer. The complication of this depth is the fact the platforming and puzzle elements of Poncho become quite a test over time, and often require an excessive amount of trial and error. This title is not for faint-hearted players as a result; each puzzle and platform element can be cruel despite the infinite retry feature. There is no hand holding and there is no instantaneous sense of accomplishment or joy as you would receive from a more traditional platformer. Check out Poncho if you enjoy puzzle problem solving within a slower-paced platforming game environment, otherwise think carefully before trying it out.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Poncho is a short adventure with excellent storytelling and amusing aspects, but far from being a flawless game, because of its technical issues, lack of challenge and altogether limited gameplay potential. An unexceptional game, but with enough personality and redeeming features that prevent it from being immediately forgotten.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“As fun as often as it is frustrating, Poncho is a hard game to recommend, even to 16-bit platformer super fans. You may be able to get some enjoyment out of it, and it certainly has an oddball charm, but ultimately, it fails to impress where it counts. The parallax layer hopping is neat and at times can be fun. Unfortunately, the game falters too often and descends into maddening tedium. Retro platformers may be stylish these days, but sadly, Poncho hasn't quite pulled it off.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Poncho is a blast to play. It's difficult, yet rewarding;the punishment for failure is minimal. The levels are unique and the puzzle designs are effective. Traversing the "parallax layers" is an elegant mechanic that circumvents traditional concepts of movement and level design. It's only held back by its overreliance on collectables and weak narrative.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Still, this beautiful wrapper isn't enough to cover up Poncho's fundamental flaws. It's a lovely experiment and although it works well in some parts, an overall sense of cohesion is missing. Being able to move along the z-axis is a clever feature yet Poncho uses this as a crutch, failing to flesh out other essential areas of the game. In short, there's certainly something special here yet, sadly, only a minority will succeed in finding it.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Poncho lives much more off its puzzles and mental reasoning demands than of platforming action - not to mention it features unlimited lives - and any potential for a fluid action game is lost in this.”
read full review ↗ - 82
“Poncho, a game that a week ago, honestly I knew nothing about. It however was highlighted on Nintendo’s eshop update this week along with a trailer and it instantly hooked me. We at PSVG reached out the to the development team and they were gracious enough to supply us with a review copy of the game. I played the game on the Wii U entirely on the gamepad (just felt right) but it is also available on PS4, Vita, PC and Mac.”
read full review ↗ - 69
“PONCHO is a 2D side scrolling puzzle platform game by Delve Interactive, which combines a clever gameplay mechanic with detailed and beautifully rendered pixel art. The game uses both back and foreground layers to create complex puzzling challenges and platforming. The results on the whole are mixed, but once the player adjusts to timing the command to zap between layers whilst jumping, there are some moments of entertaining gameplay.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“PONCHO isn’t a huge game, as I found myself able to beat it in a couple hours, but it does offer replay value if you want to spend more time in this world. Without spoilers, I will say that a decision you make at the end of the game will give one of two possible endings, and there are also achievements for collecting every single collectible. While I’m not sure if accomplishing this task gets you anything other than a sense of pride, it is a nice bonus. I wouldn’t say PONCHO is for everybody, as some of the platforming, especially later in the game, can get quite frustrating, but for those stubborn enough to buckle down, you’ll get your value. Priced at $14.99 on Steam, PONCHO may be a bit pricey, but I feel it’s worth it, especially if you find it on sale. Overall, I was quite pleased with PONCHO, and would recommend it to any fans of touching, mysterious indie games. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back and find the rest of those collectibles…”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Ultimately I'm left at a little bit of a loss with Poncho. It's a great concept, and when it's working it's a great inventive challenge, but when it goes downhill, it put a huge damper on my experience as a whole. I wanted to like it, but it was tough given some of the rough puzzle and level designs on show.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Poncho is a game based around an interesting concept, but the execution of the title is so poor and inconsistent, you spend more time respawning than actually playing”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Poncho is a fun but sometimes ponderous platform puzzler, with an impressive core mechanic and fun visuals that are slightly let down by moments of frustrating gameplay.”
read full review ↗
Nintendo Life
Cubed3
Push Square
MonsterVine
TheSixthAxis
FNintendo
Play Some Video Games
Gamers FTW
oprainfall
Destructoid
PushStartPlay
Game Rant…and 8 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- UPDATE PATCH 4!Nov 21, 2015
- UPDATE PATCH 4!Nov 21, 2015
- Update 3 is live!Nov 6, 2015
- Update 3 is live!Nov 6, 2015
- UPDATE 2! The moving platforms...Nov 5, 2015
- UPDATE 2! The moving platforms...Nov 5, 2015
- 1st Update is live! Bugs Fixed!Nov 4, 2015
- 1st Update is live! Bugs Fixed!Nov 4, 2015