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) | – | 64 | 6 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 64% | 63 | 735 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 34% | 41 | 5 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 14 reviews sampled · 0 total reviews in window · weighted 0.5 up / 1 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (18)
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.
- 70
“If you need a 2D platforming fix you can't go far wrong with Pankapu. While the polished, crisp, beautiful presentation and gameplay are engaging enough, it is nevertheless slightly let down by a few elements that affect the beat by beat and overall flow of the game. The charming characters and parallel narrative are intriguing, and while the resonant themes, fantastical atmosphere and wonderful locales enchant and are especially vibrant on a big screen, the controls aren't quite tight or precise enough considering the challenging level design an enemy combat. An enjoyable game, if not quite as strong as it could have been.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Pankapu does seem to try to compensate with carrots to go with that stick in the form of the gorgeous artwork, glimpses of some greater story that you’ll want to fully reveal, and a pretty abundant amount of lore. Unfortunately those are mere baby carrots against practically a redwood tree full of aggravation. In many regards even though it has a very modern look its gameplay execution reminds me most of old 8-bit action / platformers with awkward and stilted controls mixing with level design that is in desperate need of tuning and rebalancing. I think it’s the irregular damage amounts you take that compound my irritation. Rather simply having you take damage of 1 from all threats they’ve gone back in and made variable tweaks so that your health gauge doesn’t mean very much at a quick glance, to know what you can survive from where you are in the level you’d need to pull out a conversion chart. None of this is to say that the game is impossible to beat, just that the process of doing so too often feels like a manufactured ordeal where your tools for being effective are deliberately compromised.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“Pankapu is a series of lessons on what to not do when creating a platformer, wrapped up in a greedy episodic format that should not exist at all. Amongst its many issues, the sluggish controls stand out as the main big flaw of this piece of indie-developed frustration.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“At its core it's a solid action/platformer, with a beautiful aesthetic and captivating sound track. The difficulty spikes combined with the frequent load times can definitely test your patience, but overall the positives outweigh the negatives. So if you're in the mood for a pleasant platformer, the dreamy world of Pankapu just might be the game for you.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Pankapu can sit proudly among the greats of the Switch line-up. The FingerGuns review;”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Pankapu has interesting elements in its favour. The game's plot and the way it is presented is certainly one of them and its well crafted visuals add to the flavour. At the same time, the level design feels too repetitive and the game doesn't really feel like it offers anything new, as Penkapu's good story telling and visuals end up outshining almost everything else about the game.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Pankapu, a love-letter to the action-platformers of the 80s and 90s, may not quite rise to the top of the pack, but it is nevertheless another welcome, unexpectedly content-rich genre romp that’ll have you swearing at your many, many deaths, and shamelessly fist-pumping when you finally reach the next glorious checkpoint.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“With my time spent on this little platformer, I have developed a bit of a soft spot for Pankapu. We have been through a great deal together. The world of dreams ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there if you let it.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Looks like it’s that time of the week, folks! The Nintendo eShop has yet another slew of new titles to explore and try, and this time around we have one to give a hands-on experience! Too Kind Studios’ Kickstarter project in 2015 gave rise to the well-animated title Pankapu: the Dreamkeeper for the Steam platform in 2016. Now in the year of our Nayru 2017, Too Kind has managed to breathe another chance of life into their title by bringing it onto the Switch console. Check out the video below as I give it a shot!”
read full review ↗ - 80
“After experiencing the finished product, I'm pleased to see that Pankapu turned out to be such a charming and worthwhile adventure.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Pankapu can be a hidden gem if you are a truly a platforming lover seeking a challenge. Others might find themselves discourage from its difficulty.”
read full review ↗ - 68
“If you can look past the uneven difficulty curves, Pankapu is a relatively enjoyable platformer with fun class-switching mechanics, especially if looking for one for a younger (8-15) audience.”
read full review ↗
Nintendo Life
Nindie Spotlight
Cubed3
NintendoWorldReport
FingerGuns
FNintendo
Flickering Myth
Nintendo Insider
Play Some Video Games
GameSpew
Geeks Under Grace
GameCynic…and 6 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Patch Note 9: Version 2.0.14Oct 24, 2017
- Patch Note 9: Version 2.0.14Oct 24, 2017
- Patch Note 8: Version 2.0.13Oct 3, 2017
- Patch Note 8: Version 2.0.13Oct 3, 2017
- Linux and Mac Ep.2 access problem is now fixedSep 25, 2017
- Patch Note 7: Version 2.0.10Sep 25, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Patch Note 7: Version 2.0.10Sep 25, 2017
- Patch note 6: Version 1.1.2Nov 17, 2016
- Patch note 6: Version 1.1.2Nov 17, 2016
- Patch note 5: Version 1.1.1Nov 14, 2016
- Patch note 5: Version 1.1.1Nov 14, 2016
- Patch note 4 : Time Trial unlockedOct 24, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- Patch note 4 : Time Trial unlockedOct 24, 2016
- Patch note 3 : Version 1.0.3Sep 27, 2016
- Patch note 3 : Version 1.0.3Sep 27, 2016
- Patch note 2 : Version 1.0.2Sep 23, 2016
- Patch note 2 : Version 1.0.2Sep 23, 2016
- Patch note 1 : Bug fixes + Russian localizationSep 22, 2016
- Patch note 1 : Bug fixes + Russian localizationSep 22, 2016