Armikrog

About

"Armikrog" is a single-player kids' platformer game with a captivating plot, featuring space explorer Tommynaut and his blind alien dog Beak-Beak. They unravel the mysteries of a clay-animated fortress through exploration and puzzle-solving. Despite its stunning visuals, compelling music, and unique humor, the game is plagued by numerous bugs and requires lots of grinding, which can hinder the overall experience. The rich cast of voiceover talent includes well-known actors Jon Heder, Rob Paulsen, and Michael J. Nelson.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

55%

Audience ScoreBased on 880 reviews

story98 positive mentions

gameplay28 negative mentions

Beautiful claymation visuals that capture the charm of The Neverhood.
Engaging puzzles that require note-taking and problem-solving skills.
Nostalgic experience for fans of The Neverhood with a quirky sense of humor.

Short gameplay length, typically around 3-5 hours.
Repetitive puzzles that often lack variety and challenge.
Numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt the gaming experience.

story
423 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
68%
9%
The story of "Armikrog" has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it underdeveloped and lacking depth compared to its predecessor, "The Neverhood." While some appreciate the unique backstory and claymation style, others criticize the plot for being simplistic, poorly conveyed, and often confusing, relying heavily on lengthy text walls and gibberish dialogue that detracts from player engagement. Overall, the narrative is seen as a missed opportunity, with many wishing for a more fleshed-out and cohesive storyline.
- “The story is unique and fascinating enough to keep me playing through it.”
- “Where Armikrog truly shines is in its captivating and engrossing story.”
- “The story is good, going to run through it again to see if I missed any fun little bits.”
- “The plot/script is not clear, doesn't involve you in the heroes' problems, boring, and gameplay is too long, has no much sense and is not explained at all.”
- “The story is weak nonsense.”
- “The story was lackluster and felt like an afterthought.”
music
365 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
56%
7%
The music in *Armikrog* has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while it is well-composed and fits the game's quirky aesthetic, it lacks the memorable and catchy quality of its predecessor, *The Neverhood*. Some users appreciated the nostalgic elements and the return of composer Terry Scott Taylor, but others found the soundtrack to be forgettable or even disappointing, particularly due to technical issues that caused music to cut out frequently. Overall, while the soundtrack has its moments, it does not consistently deliver the same charm and impact as the earlier titles.
- “The music is catchy and memorable, although be forewarned that if you get the fancy edition with the OST, they're just badly compressed MP3s, which is a shame.”
- “One of the standout features of Armikrog is its exceptional music and voice acting.”
- “The soundtrack for this game is all over the place and I love it.”
- “The music is boring, usual, and very background.”
- “The music was boring, and it lacked much of the character that one sees in other claymation.”
- “The soundtrack is very short; the one from the previous game, The Neverhood, is light years ahead.”
graphics
214 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
54%
3%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning claymation aesthetics and artistic design, creating a visually captivating experience that many reviewers found reminiscent of its predecessor, The Neverhood. However, some players noted technical issues such as graphical glitches and a lack of interactivity that detracted from the overall experience. While the visuals are often described as the game's strongest aspect, they are sometimes seen as insufficient to compensate for shortcomings in gameplay and narrative.
- “The painstaking effort put into crafting the claymation visuals is evident in every frame, creating a charming and distinctive world that feels like a living, breathing work of art.”
- “The visuals are astounding, hand-made backgrounds, characters, and overall very affectionate design.”
- “The graphics and music alone are worth the price of admission.”
- “However, the visuals alone cannot carry the game, especially when the gameplay and story are so lacking.”
- “The cutscenes are beautifully crafted stop-motion animations; unfortunately, the props and background during gameplay are zoomed out too far to appreciate the aesthetics of the clay figures and other materials.”
- “The game in its current state, despite the year-long delay, is riddled with bugs, both graphical and gameplay-related, some even stopping you from completing the game.”
gameplay
171 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
74%
16%
The gameplay of Armikrog has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that it feels slow, repetitive, and lacking in depth compared to its predecessor, The Neverhood. While the puzzles are generally considered simple and sometimes frustrating, the game is criticized for having more cutscenes than actual gameplay, leading to a disjointed experience. Additionally, technical issues such as bugs and a poorly functioning save system further detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “The gameplay is decent, only had 1 or 2 bugs while piloting Tommynaut's totally rad shapeshifting dog sidekick, and it's standard or below-average point and click fare.”
- “As a fan of point and click games from companies like LucasArts and Telltale, Armikrog is a breath of fresh air, as its lack of dialogue trees and its use of symbol-focused puzzles give it a unique gameplay experience.”
- “The gameplay consists of wacky puzzles to solve which are sometimes so far out there that I am surprised anyone has even managed to complete this game without the aid of a guide.”
- “The gameplay was a bit dry and slow, and it could be better, but I liked the puzzles in the game.”
- “You can really feel the love that went into the production of Armikrog, as everything has been done as best as possible. Unfortunately, it just feels a little off the mark as most of the gameplay feels padded out, slow, and more like short movies.”
- “The gameplay is almost nonexistent, apart from a set of puzzles that are actually repeated multiple times despite being the same with extremely narrow differences.”
humor
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
2%
The humor in "Armikrog" is often described as lacking compared to its predecessor, "The Neverhood," with many reviewers noting that while there are some funny moments and quirky characters, the overall comedic impact is diminished. Some players appreciated the unique visual style and occasional humorous scenes, but many felt the game fell short in delivering the clever and engaging humor that made "The Neverhood" memorable. Overall, while there are glimpses of humor, it is generally considered more tame and less effective than expected.
- “Stunning stop motion animation throughout, engaging puzzles, fantastic humor, a wonderful spiritual successor to The Neverhood.”
- “The game itself features humorously bizarre scenes and clever puzzles, as Tommynaught, an alien sent out to scavenge the rare mineral p-tonium to save his people, and Beak-Beak, a very curious, blind (and rather sassy) dog-creature set out to explore the ruins of a strange world they crash-landed on.”
- “The story is interesting as it develops, and full of wacky humor, with decent performances from Mike Nelson and Rob Paulsen to boot.”
- “It's not funny and not at all endearing like Neverhood was.”
- “Not funny, not so interesting, too short.”
stability
105 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game's stability has been a significant concern among players, with many reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and crashes that detract from the overall experience. While some users noted improvements following patches, the initial release was widely criticized for being unplayable at times, with issues ranging from minor graphical errors to game-breaking glitches. Overall, the consensus is that the game remains quite buggy, making it a frustrating experience for many, despite its potential.
- “I had a bug-free experience that didn't affect my opinion of the game.”
- “Played through with no glitches!”
- “The game had no glitches for me; a couple of puzzles were a bit tedious, but every point-and-click has those.”
- “The game is also very short, lasting only a few hours, and riddled with bugs and glitches.”
- “I encountered several crashes, freezes, and graphical errors that made the game even less enjoyable, though I was playing the original release (I hear there have been some patches).”
- “This game is an unintuitive, unfinished, buggy, short, storyless, unfun piece of software.”
grinding
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight a prevalent issue with grinding in the game, particularly through tedious and repetitive puzzles that often require excessive backtracking and trial-and-error. While some puzzles are noted for their creativity and thematic brilliance, many players found them to be frustratingly slow and overly complex, leading to a sense of annoyance rather than enjoyment. Overall, the grinding aspect detracts from the experience, with several players opting to watch solutions online rather than endure the tedious gameplay.
- “Everything I experienced in the game is so incredibly, maddeningly, tediously slow.”
- “Backtracking through rooms four or five times for one puzzle, needless grinding halts due to pathing, slow and meticulous methods to solving puzzles you can figure out by looking at them.”
- “And the baby puzzle was enough to make me stop playing; seriously, the only puzzle that I found moderately challenging was challenging for no good reason, was poorly designed, and tedious as hell requiring you to listen to a slowly repeating loop while a baby's cries permeate the game's sounds boring into my soul until I exited as quickly as I could.”
atmosphere
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
44%
11%
The atmosphere of the game is a mixed bag, with many praising its vibrant graphics and engaging music that evoke a cozy, otherworldly feel reminiscent of classic shows and its predecessor, The Neverhood. However, some critics feel it lacks the depth and charm of The Neverhood, describing it as too light or failing to create a truly immersive experience. Overall, while the visuals and sound design are often highlighted as strong points, opinions vary on the game's ability to maintain a captivating atmosphere throughout.
- “It has great graphics and music which together create an atmosphere that you don't want to leave.”
- “Gorgeous claymation environments and characters with all of the surreal atmosphere that we've come to expect from its predecessor, and in gloriously crisp HD resolution to boot.”
- “The atmosphere is awesome and super cozy, always mysterious and a bit eerie.”
- “They went for some 'otherworldly, goofy-ish' atmosphere in design, but the music went for... errr something else.”
- “There's no dedication to atmosphere or world here, the kinds of which The Neverhood had in spades, much more content with cracking lame jokes that bear no relevance to the strange world around (Abraham Lincoln...? Hah...? And the joke is repeated multiple times?).”
- “Unfortunately, the game simply does not have the same charming atmosphere as its predecessor.”
character development
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
53%
20%
Character development in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting a lack of depth and storytelling despite the appealing clay visuals and unique character designs. While the animation and humor are praised, the scarcity of cutscenes and meaningful character progression detracts from the overall experience, leaving some feeling that it falls short compared to similar titles like The Neverhood. Overall, while the artistic elements shine, the character development is seen as a significant area for improvement.
- “You can tell there has been some real passion put into the character design and the creation of all these incredibly tactile levels.”
- “Hope to see more from these guys, the animation is incredibly fluid, the level design and character design are on-par with the Neverhood's, and the puzzles can be challenging, but very rewarding.”
- “Great claymation, great music, challenging but not overly frustrating puzzles, plenty of humor, wacky character design and strange environments.”
- “This is not to mention the numerous bugs & glitches the game had on release (and still has even after updates), a carelessness in explaining mechanics & important aspects to the player which you'll end up having to figure out for yourself, and the scarcity of cutscenes & character development, and hence overall character (apart from the visuals), which for a Doug Tennapel project should be one of its strongest points.”
- “Character development was non-existent.”
- “Very little story or character development.”
emotional
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
79%
21%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its heartfelt storytelling and nostalgic elements, evoking feelings of warmth and contemplation, particularly through its music and character design. While some players appreciate the emotional depth and ambition of the narrative, others find the overall experience lacking due to a perceived boring storyline and gameplay. Overall, the game resonates with those seeking a blend of nostalgia and emotional engagement, despite mixed reviews on its execution.
- “Tennapel makes no secret about his faith; it's woven into much of his work, and I have to give him credit. He's a good storyteller who understands how to talk about the emotional values of his religion in a way that's contemplative and fresh.”
- “Armikrog plays out a very sweet, heartwarming story.”
- “Surprisingly, it's the softer, sadder tracks that work best; songs like 'Nocturne in Blue' or 'Mother is Near' are genuinely emotional in a way that you'd be hard-pressed to find on the earlier soundtracks, and they give the game's dramatic inclinations a touch of much-needed gravitas.”
- “Boring non-sensical puzzles, boring story, and boring gameplay.”
- “Boring storyline.”
- “Boring story.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
Overall, the game's replayability is generally considered low, with many players noting its linear structure and lack of branching paths. While some elements, like changing puzzle variables, offer slight variation, most reviews indicate that the game can be completed quickly, leaving little incentive for multiple playthroughs. Players suggest it may be worth purchasing on sale due to its limited replay value.
- “And this also gives the game replayability.”
- “It also has replay value, because some puzzle variables change with every new game.”
- “The game has little replay value except to see how fast you can run through it (about 1.5 hours for me the last run), so I would say this game is worth buying if it's on sale.”
- “Little replay value (as it is linear).”
- “I expect most people will be able to wrap this game in under 10 hours with very little replay value.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
29%
14%
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while the performance is generally smooth and the voice acting enhances immersion, some users noted a lack of guidance that can lead to confusion during gameplay. Additionally, certain puzzles could benefit from better optimization to improve the overall experience.
- “The performance side of the game is outstanding but the game itself doesn't explain anything so you're just running around like a headless chicken clicking stuff randomly.”
- “- Does the game run smoothly, and is it easy to move around and use items?”
- “Some puzzles could have been better optimized.”