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Pony Island review
by Kyle Weber

Like many Daniel Mullins games, Pony Island has a lot going for it.  It manages to play to its meta and Format Screw elements quite well, producing a game whose mechanics keep changing quickly enough to keep you engaged.  There are plenty of clever secrets that you have to dig deep to find but perfectionists and 100%'s will be rewarded with far more secrets than you might expect at first glance.  The gameplay is easy enough so that you never feel lost but challenging enough to keep the player pushing further.  Of course, storytelling is a highlight of this game (as it is in all of this creator's output), somehow managing to deliver both an interesting take on damnation and Satan and some amusing meta-commentary on game development (that will make sense after you've played the game).  The story is not as strong as Mullins' other games but given its shorter run time and smaller scope this is not surprising.

What drops this game from an Exceptional is the actual gameplay, which is a bit too padded and frustrating for my taste.  Difficulty outside of the programming-based puzzle levels (which were my favorite part of th egame) generally comes less from thinking of a clever way around a problem and more from having to do the same precision action for a long period of time at various levels of difficulty.  To be specific about this complaint, there didn't seem to be a point of having the Act III levels be as long as they were, since this just penalized mistakes more without requiring me to actually improve more.  If these levels were half as long, I'd still have to avoid the mistakes the level was trying to goad me into making but I would get through to the other side faster.  This is a complaint I have about the core platforming levels across the board, which were boring compared both to the exposition-delivering segments and the puzzle mechanics.  It wasn't even that I was against tighter platforming but just that requiring me to go through a lot of moments of dodging the same set of obstacles over and over again wasn't actually challenging in an engaging way.

Overall, though, this is still quite strong -- recommended!
«Blew my mind»
«Sit back and relax»
«Underrated»
«That ending!»
«Beaten more than once»

Other reviews6

Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
This Game is simply the Hammer. When you hear the Title, you first think of a Flashgame for Children. That's definitely not the case here! If you expect something 08/15 moderate here, you will be disappointed. It is varied, funny and partially straves the Brain. From Platforming passages, to Puzzles, to the big Brainf * ck, the Game has it all. Plus, the Humor is unique and hits my Taste. If you consider that the Game was made by only a Handful of People, you can just say: Top! All in all, a short but really nice Game, which I can only recommend to everyone, is extended because of the small Price. Edit: Two friendly People played the Game with me (one Evening each) and were both thrilled.
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
Game presentation: + uniform CRT retro look + very good Soundtrack + glitch effects and chromatic Aberration as stylistic Design: + varied Tasks + games in the Game + wonderfully implemented hacking balance: + constantly Increasing Difficulty level + Easy To understand game principle + gameplay and story matched + no Questionable hack puzzle atmosphere: + gloomy creepy mood + Devil Depicted as a Programmer + lots of surprises and cool Ideas + breaking the Fourth Wall circumference: + 24 Tickets to Collect + secret Ending/Optional Ways-Little game time (max 1.5h -3h)-Little replayed Conclusion: A very cool Game what plays with the Atmosphere. Glitche Serve as Game Elements and build the Story on which even the "4th Wall" break through. Extremely cool Ideas to Irritate the Player and exploit his Habits Of steel messages, Facebook message sound. An all-tessential Game which has potential upwards (DLC). Clear Buy Clam 88/100
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
I would name Pony Island as an Insider tip, for People who like twisted Games where you also have to use your Head. Everyone will certainly not like it, but the Game is maybe even too demanding in a certain Way, you have to get a bit of pure fuch at some Things. In addition, the Look is also quite old baked, but the Game makes no Secret Of it, which is even an excellent stylistic Device in this Case. At Its core, this is actually a side scroller where you control a Pony. The Mouse is 99% sufficient, you will quickly notice why. The Pony can run, jump and other ... Things... http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1135060679 But the real Fun of the Game lies hidden in all The Passages in between. However, I cannot go Into this In More detail for Spoiler Reasons. 2-4h Rumgehopse including puzzle fun are guaranteed to praise the Developer For this Creativity. Give yourself the Title, if in Doubt in The Sale you can't go wrong. Cheers, Fletcher
A highly recommended game. It’s very challenging (sometimes even too hard for me) but it makes you feel really smart when you finally win. There a lot of obstacles and enemies here, and the difficulty is increasing all the time but the process is over-involving. A 2D platformer setting adds a nostalgic feeling too. Despite the difficulty of the game, you can complete it for 3 hours average, I guess. 
This game tries to be special but in fact it’s an ordinary platformer, quite annoying I must say. If you’re looking for a challenge, better choose another title. This game is very pretentious but shallow. It’ll take you a couple of hours to complete it, even if you try to get every achievement in it. Yes, it’s not a total fail, and some levels are entertaining but it definitely doesn’t deserve that hype it has got.