POINPY is not a particularly long game, and I managed to complete everything it had to offer in roughly a week. But I still come back to it, because it’s just fun to play anyway! The music is great, the art style is cute, and perhaps most importantly in the modern era of mobile games, there TRULY ARE no ads or microtransactions. The “in-app purchases” disclaimer only exists because there is an optional button to tip the developers. It never nags you about it in any capacity, nor does it lock any content behind it. It really is just a completely free game with no strings attached. Extremely rare sight in the modern mobile gaming landscape, and the game earns 5 stars for that alone. But, as I said before, it’s also just so much fun to play! I love trying out different equipment combos to try to make the biggest extra-fruit-streak I possibly can. Cannot recommend this game enough!!

Poinpy is one of those rare mobile games that is an actual game.…Okay so obviously I’m being a bit facetious—frankly I’m not much of a mobile gamer. Smartphones just aren’t suited for the types of games I enjoy playing, and mobile games (especially “free”-to-play ones) are often plagued with frustrating design choices that disrespect the player, with the goal of getting the player to fork over cash to ease that frustration. So it is incredibly refreshing to play something on my phone, for free, that actually respects the player. And it’s a well designed game, on top of that.While Poinpy is far from the first game of its kind, it delivers an incredibly solid and well-polished experience comparable to other small indie arcade games you can find on PC and console, with an insanely addictive gameplay loop. And the controls work well on a phone too. In my opinion, the creator’s prior game, Downwell, suffered from the use of touchscreen buttons (which are never quite as responsive as the real, tactile buttons on a controller); Poinpy’s tap and slide controls, by contrast, are simple and intuitive, yet allow for a similarly compelling experience. I skipped this game back when it was on Netflix (because, like… why is Netflix hosting games anyways? lol) but was intrigued seeing it release on the App Store 100% free with zero drawbacks (only with the option to leave a tip). Kinda crazy, whoever came up with that. But it might actually be a secretly genius financial decision because I actually did end up voluntarily leaving a tip, and I probably wouldn’t have spent any money on this game if it were instead filled with ads or behind a one-time paywall. The game is truly free, though, so if you’re dead set on not spending any money (and make no mistake, there is no incentive for tipping, the devs don’t guilt-trip you, it’s entirely at your discretion) there’s zero risk in downloading and trying it yourself.

From the creator of Downwell, that’s really all that needs to be said. POINPY harkens back to the early days of the App Store where simple arcade games with easy to learn touch controls were king. Much like Downwell movement is fun and fluid. It’s a momentum based system which keeps your control feeling deliberate and the action constantly exciting. The game has a colorful presentation, it reminds me of Nintendo with its barrage of simple yet charming characters. POINPY is free with no ads or strings attached. That’s so rare in today’s market that some may assume it’s too good to be true, but it isn’t. POINPY is just like that.

POINPY is genuinely such a fun game, I’m a little sad that I’ve beaten it, even if it took me more than a few days. It’s also kinda addicting, the gameplay feels smooth and easy to understand, as well as challenging, especially the final challenge.My questions (that I think the devs can respond to bcuz I’m pretty sure there’s a feature for them to do so) is: what is the bedtime set? The second question is not really a question but I don’t think that the leaderboards are working.