What a fantastic little puzzle game. I found Pocket Kingdom while aimlessly scrolling through my library, and I’m glad I gave it a try.

The background of the story is that you were searching with your airship for a mysterious flying Island, that is supposedly inhabited by an old god, to prove its existence and bring the breaking news back home. After crash landing on the island by accident, you find yourself stuck there and the objective is to find a way to escape, while also unraveling the islands mysteries.

The whole game consists of about 100 “screens” and every puzzle fully fits on one screen. The game isn’t really open or linear, it’s a mix between the two since you have different paths that you can choose most of the time. There are also metroidvania elements in a way that you have to collect certain items in one puzzle in order to solve another puzzle and access a new area.

That’s said, the puzzles range from easy to quite challenging in the later screens. Especially some of the optional paths had puzzles that really got me thinking. Its not easy to design a complex puzzle when you don’t have a lot of room to work with, so props to the dev for making such satisfying puzzles. I also loved the game world, its characters, the lore of the place, the arstyle, etc... The atmosphere is top notch for such a simple looking 2D puzzler and I found myself wanting to learn more about the game world and its strange inhabitants.

Overall a great little puzzle game for the asking price. Takes 5-7 hours to 100% and most of the achievements are story related or for finding easter eggs, which were very enjoyable to search for imo. The game seems to be rather unknown so give it a try if any of this sounded appealing to you.

Pocket Kingdom is a rich and wonderful puzzle game that is an amazing example of progression in game design. What attracted me to this title were two things; one believe it or not, was the Steam suggestion tab. In a rare lightning in a bottle moment the suggestion system actually worked. Secondly was the wonderful art from the screenshots. I knew I had to get my hands on this game and I am glad to say that I didn't regret it.

The setting for Pocket Kingdom is of the steampunk variety with a big dollop of magic. You are a down on his luck adventurer who takes on a job to find a mystical floating island and take a picture of the slumbering god that inhabits it. Needless to say, easier said than done. You get shot down by pirates, thus begins the adventure. While the themes are very familiar in Pocket Kingdom the entire lore is original and at times a bit odd. The reason for that is that Pocket Kingdom does not hold your hand much in this game.

From a lore standpoint the game acts like its lore is all common knowledge, there are names thrown around and you feel like you are always trying to catch up to what is going on. It's not a gripe necessarily, but I do feel that to fully grasp every single detail of the story, that it might benefit from playing the game twice.

Now there are signs to tell you what buttons do what and occasionally a use this tool here type of thing, but you do feel very much bewildered when the game starts. I didn't mind this to be honest and I felt like I was on an adventure in a strange world.

Upon heading up the cliffs after your "landing" you soon discover that you are not the first and surely won't be the last to land on this island. There are several districts all brimming with their own people, factions, and lore to digest.

The inhabitants tell you the basic rules of what they have learned to call, "Pocket Kingdom." Doors and ladders are the only means of traversing from area to area, as physics is warped and walking left might just leave you all the way on the right.

Additionally, the god of the island is a trickster and puzzles are springing up all over the island.

Lastly, escape is nigh on impossible and you're out of luck!

Those rules are very important as you begin taking on the various puzzles the island has to offer. The game is played from a classic side-view and the basic goal is to explore, find useful gear, and get off the bloody island. Also, if at all possible, snag a picture of this supposed God.

How you go about this is completely on you, this is a game you will beat at your own pace. I absolutely loved the progression in Pocket Kingdom, the puzzles get harder and harder but never did I once feel overwhelmed.

The puzzles involve boxes, levers, and lasers. Things get tricky though when you begin throwing in grappling hooks, rocket launchers, and gravity pads begin to appear. Remember I said physics is warped? Yeah you can fall and land on top of the screen. It definitely takes some time to wrap your head around and makes puzzles dynamic as hell. I applaud the puzzle design as I couldn't imagine how the developer came up with such clever ways of using a simple concept.

When it comes to difficulty, there is going to be plenty of trial and error, no puzzle will stop you but some will take longer for you to figure out. Experimentation is key here but it never got tiresome for me. Also there is plenty of that "AHA" feeling when you get things working the way you want. It's very satisfying.

There is an over-world map that you can traverse that is riddled with secrets, passages, treasure, and easter-eggs. Progression is handled beautifully here as well, as you gain access to different parts of the island bit by bit. Going about finding all the rooms on the island is quite a task. Attention to detail is important and exploration is usually rewarded.

As a reviewer, my tip to you would be generally if you are looking to get somewhere that chances are there is a passage nearby.

Along the way you will collect gear that will help you navigate the island and make getting around less of a grind.

The aesthetics are strange but in good ways. The area that I felt was the weakest was the Sprite design, as you run into many characters that all look the same. However, the areas themselves are magically archaic, feeling old but brimming with an unseen life. Certain areas have a great amount of detail to them and look wonderfully rustic. Each area has generally its own theme and all of them are well done. My favorite is easily the Abandoned Temple, with the Pirates coming in a close second.

Overall I was very impressed with the game itself, it's designed very well. There are some gripes here though, the UI is particularly wonky, at one point getting locked on the reset progress screen, much to my terror.

Using the Steam overlay caused a few graphical errors where my character was in a place he actually wasn't. Nothing restarting the game didn't fix but enough to note.

The music/sound in the game was on par, but did get a bit grating on the ears sometimes. The music tends to repeat itself. Not a huge complaint and honestly this will vary depending on personal taste. The game does feature Steam Cards/Achievements, and happily does have full controller support.

From a replay aspect, that is up to how much you care to fully understand the world of Pocket Kingdom. You could just get all the secrets and discover all the rooms and call it a day. That took me about six hours in total. I imagine a second play through would take significantly less.

Pocket Kingdom is a satisfying game in all regards. I am honestly very happy I discovered this game and greatly recommend it. You have seen games like this before so while not on high on the charts for innovation, if you loved games like Escape Goat or Blackhole then you should check out this game. It's fun, relaxing, and I loved the great puzzle design.

At the ridiculously low price of $6.99/£4.99 this is guaranteed to pay for itself in enjoyment.

Oh, and a nod for the people who have played it; Room 74 is impossible to find.

You enter a world and see the lore building up, and that piques your interest and makes you want to move further and find out more. You see hints of a foreign language that you'll probably have to decipher and meet people and deities that make the game looks exciting to unveil. While you do all that, you move through a world with an interesting mechanic where, in all rooms, up and down warp to each other, and the same happens with left and right, and you can only leave via doors, ladders and portals. That fact alone is ground for some very interesting puzzles. And you still can get 2 different endings.

But suddenly you start to realize that the game was cut short. You get 2 repeated puzzles, puzzles that weren't playtested thoroughly enough, at least 3 characters that imply they are related to a side-quest that was not included in the game. That foreign language is never deciphered, some mysteries remain veiled, and when you least expect the game ends with a lot hanging. Talk about anti-climatic. I mean it. It almost ruins the whole experience.

There are even a few minor bugs, like with sfx not working properly. Also, the map is terribly design and makes navigating a pain.

In case you're wondering, the dev said in the forums they're not going to work further on the game, so don't get your hopes up. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like they're working on any other games, which is a shame, since Pocket Kingdom shows a lot of promise.

I was slightly on the fence on this one, but I wouldn't recommend buying Pocket Kingdom in the state it was abandoned. If you got it in a bundle, sure, you might give it a try, but know that you'll probably be frustrated at the end.

Puzzlevania is the best description for the type of game this is. The puzzles are honestly tricky and require retries and some trial and error. Someone said the game is 3-4 hours, but I think it's going to take me longer since I'm not as clever. I'm having a lot of fun with it and you can tell someone put a lot of care into the setting and story. It's definitely worth the price they're asking as it's really well-crafted.

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

I was gifted Pocket Kingdom by a friend, due to it being on chrono.gg's[chrono.gg] coin shop for 3000 coins. Special thanks to the devs/publishers for making that possible.

Pocket Kingdom was an absolute delight to discover, unveil and figure out. I had low expectations about this title beyond its sweet pixel art and puzzle premise. Less than one hour in, I realized I had approached it wrong: Pocket Kingdom goes above and beyond being a thought-inducing puzzle game by packing its universe with cool tunes, an interesting back-story and surprisingly deep lore.

By exploring its intricate map one screen at a time, Pocket Kingdom gives you a fair amount of freedom regarding how to proceed with its puzzles. For example: one of the items you can collect are regular keys. You can use them on doors and chests, but you can absolutely decide which locks to use it on first, and the game is very generous and smart about where it places its keys.

Pocket Kingdom does have a handful of downsides, however: it's short, at around 6 hours long; the NPCs are mostly repetitive and contribute little to the story; the main character lacks charisma; the map can be absolutely infuriating not only due to a poor design choice, but also due to recurring bugs.

All things considered, despite the many puzzle games I've played, Pocket Kingdom is a title that left an impression on me due to the way it juggles with interesting lore, cute Easter eggs, fun achievements (seriously, totally unexpectedly awesome) and gorgeous pixel art.

I recommend Pocket Kingdom to anyone interesting in cracking a few puzzles, exploring an interesting floating island and stumbling upon a few really fun secrets.

Review copy provided by publisher

Story is a bit of an optional feature in puzzle games. Some of my favorite puzzle games have none at all, and even classics like Professor Layton keep the plot and puzzles almost entirely separated. Pocket Kingdom surprised me because on the surface it looked to be an assortment of very pretty puzzle rooms and little else. But those rooms are populated by an entire society of characters ready to explain the history and workings of their little world. You’ll be getting equal parts brain-teasers and world-building here, and you’ll need to be paying attention to both to get the most out of this challenging title.

Burly adventurer-for-hire Tim Tom has taken a job to bring back photos of the mysterious Pocket Kingdom, a floating island of legend. Turns out the easy part is finding it, because Tim plants his airship into the side of it and now has to find a new way off. But no one who lands on Pocket Kingdom leaves again, thanks to some mind-bending enchantments the slumbering god Yumo placed on the place. No matter which direction you go, you end up back where you started, so most of the folks that ended up here decided to stay right where they are. Not everything is so cut and dry in the kingdom, though, and there may yet be a way back home for Tim if he can penetrate the many mysteries of gods and men to be found here.

None of that is exaggeration, mind you, and the many NPCs you meet will helpfully explain it all. Pocket Kingdom (so-called because it is said to exist in “Yumo’s pocket”) is an array of a hundred or so rooms connected by doorways, ladders, and portals. Any other means of egress, like stepping or falling off the edge of the screen, just loops you back around to the other side. This is both a major plot point and gameplay mechanic, and I have the utmost respect for any game that intertwines the two. Right from the start the characters you meet explain both the rules and the setting, building it up as a fully-functioning society you’re trying to escape with different figures and factions to deal with. It almost feels like Studio Ghibli’s Castle in the Sky except populated, which is something I’m surely not alone in wanting for ages.

Interactions with NPCs are pretty simple dialogues, though you’ll need to keep track of who offers what items for trade and who sends you to do what. Your map and diary are both useful for this, with the former marking key item locations (and allowing instant travel after a certain point) and the latter spelling out all the important plot beats. That leaves you free to focus the majority of your brain power on the puzzles, which you will surely need and then some. The mechanics of Pocket Kingdom mean you’ll have to approach puzzles from more than just a 2D perspective, keeping in mind how the screen wrapping will affect you, the crates you push, and the traps you contend with. As if that wasn’t enough, the game also introduces gravity flipping and switch-operated platforms early on, which multiplies the complexity to an incredible degree.

Pocket Kingdom is the kind of game that can easily get too tricky to finish, depending on how well you acclimate to the mix of mechanics. It doesn’t appear to be a long game, around three to four hours, but getting stumped on a puzzle or two can balloon that out or put you off the game entirely. There’s a wonderful story to unravel here, set in a picturesque fantasy world of warm pixel art and soothing music, but you’ll have to tackle some devilish rooms to see it all. For my part, the setting and richness of the experience is more than enough reason to get lost in this one, and as long as you’re aware of what you’re getting into, I’d encourage you to do the same.



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Old-school platformer with puzzles.

+ Nice soundtrack and sound effects.
+ Pixel graphics with low resolution to immitate NES and pre-NES games.
+ There is a story that isn't half-assed and rushed like in most games.

- Short.

If you don't have a controller, don't bother. Mouse does almost nothing, keyboard bindings are undocumented and unintuitive, and a request for info on the Steam forum was ignored.

A surprisingly deep and challenging puzzle game wrapped in one of my favorite pixel art aesthetics to come out in the last few years. Beyond some minor issues (dialogue translation/redundancies, an error on the map, the map being a little too much information from the beginning) there's not much I can say that should deter anyone who is a fan of puzzlers. I had more difficulty than I would've expected in a couple rooms and have gotten more replay value than I would have expected from trying to collect all the items/diary entries and seeing what alternate solutions I could find for some of the rooms.

Had my eye on Pocket Kingdom for quite a while, and finally went for it after playing a few other puzzle+X hybrids recently. Pixel graphics are quite nice, soundtrack crawled into my head and made itself at home, and puzzle designs are solid. If you like the look of it, go for it -- it delivers. If you're on the fence, read on.

You wander around looking for something that will help you escape the island after crash-landing, and find yourself doing a few fetch quests. Some screens have folks to talk to who provide a little lore, some screens have puzzles, some have both. In puzzles, you push blocks around to open paths and block lasers (which kill you), and you sometimes use a "rocket launcher" and/or a "hookshot" to move blocks at a distance (but never for combat, there is no combat). You can reset a puzzle at any time, but can't undo steps without fully resetting.

Puzzles have a surprising amount of depth to them, with a few of the hardest ones costing me ~30m each to crack (but perhaps I'm slow). There are around ~50 puzzle screens. There are some optional fetch quests for achievements that are quite opaque/challenging, adding some payoff for investment beyond the main story.

The overarching story/world is not terribly compelling or coherent, but it got the job done. The world map/inventory/"diary" interfaces all felt pretty clunky, especially in the late game when I was trying to track down missing achievements. (You can eventually warp to any screen you've visited, but finding the right one was a chore, since neither icons on the map nor the "diaries" seem to track achievements and incomplete tasks in a clear way).

Despite some clunk, I liked it quite a bit, hence the thumbs up -- and yet, I'd caution nearly all players to go into it expecting that some aspect of gameplay won't make them feel entirely at home:

• Adventure purists might be annoyed that the adventure is constantly interrupted with puzzles that gate progress,
  
• Puzzler purists might be annoyed that puzzles are constantly interrupted with travel and backtracking,
  
• Achievement hunters will likely miss quite a few on the first go, and may not have a sense of where to look to get them (though guides are available).

So, as I said, if you're up for something a little different, I recommend it.