Copoka
- February 15, 2017
- Inaccurate Interactive
"Copoka" is a single-player, open-world indie game where you play as a bird trying to build a nest in a totalitarian city-state. With its good plot and amazing soundtrack, players will experience a unique and immersive exploration of a beautifully designed world. The game offers a peaceful and thought-provoking experience, inviting players to reflect on the impact of totalitarianism.
Reviews
- The game offers a unique perspective as you play as a bird, allowing for a relaxing exploration of a beautifully crafted city while listening to the engaging story of its inhabitants.
- The controls for flying are generally smooth and enjoyable, especially with a controller, making the experience of soaring through the skies quite delightful.
- The narrative, while simple, is thought-provoking and reflects on themes of totalitarianism and rebellion, providing depth to the otherwise light gameplay.
- The game suffers from performance issues and bugs, including unresponsive controls and graphical glitches that can detract from the overall experience.
- Many players found the game to be too short, with a playtime of around 1-2 hours, leading to a feeling of incompleteness and a desire for more content.
- The story delivery can feel shallow at times, with some voice acting being subpar, and the gameplay loop of collecting items can become repetitive.
- story134 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around a dystopian society under a totalitarian regime, where players, as a bird, eavesdrop on citizens plotting a rebellion while collecting items to build a nest. While the narrative touches on themes of oppression and revolution, it is delivered in a passive manner, allowing players to engage with it at their own pace. Overall, the story is seen as intriguing yet simplistic, with mixed opinions on its depth and emotional impact, making it a unique but not groundbreaking experience.
“A story reminiscent of 1984 where a dangerous new leader is elected and the local villagers have their rights and freedoms slowly stripped away while being lied to by their leaders and how they fight back against tyranny.”
“The story covers the paranoia of a totalitarian ruler of this city and her inevitable downfall.”
“The story is as shallow as it gets with simplistic clichés about life under dictatorships.”
“The only good thing is the soundtrack; everything is janky and poorly optimized, there is barely any story and following the only goal gets tedious and boring.”
“The story evolves through the citizens talking, which is a great element since it doesn't affect you the bird but you the human player.”
- graphics40 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming, stylized art style that is appealing yet simplistic, reminiscent of titles like "Flower." While the visuals are generally pleasant and create a beautiful atmosphere, they are not optimized well, leading to performance issues even on high-end systems. Overall, the graphics receive mixed reviews, with a score around 6/10, highlighting both their aesthetic appeal and technical shortcomings.
“A unique art style and the open world makes everything seem grand.”
“The graphics are charming in their own way, simplistic, yet lovely.”
“This game is a piece of work, I'll tell you that. The graphics and colors are bright and stunning, it makes you want to end up being a bird just to experience the beautiful tranquility as you hover above buildings, roads, people, and explore the clear blue skies.”
“For such a simple game with simple graphics, it's very unoptimized and chugs at times (usually when you're higher in the sky, but you need to do this for flight speed) even on my system (i5-4690k and a GTX 1080).”
“I spent about 30 minutes trying to fix a graphical bug that was tied to the render distance in the game (the most pivotal part of the gameplay).”
“The worst thing about this game is the visuals/graphic quality.”
- music38 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and ability to enhance immersion, with dynamic tracks that change based on the player's location and actions. Reviewers highlight the relaxing and beautiful soundtrack, which complements the game's narrative and aesthetic, although some note that it can become repetitive. Overall, the music is considered a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and storytelling.
“The overall music is well made and is sprinkled throughout the world, changing based on areas as well as how you're flying.”
“I loved watching the story unfold as I went along; the world was beautiful, and the dynamic soundtrack was perfect!”
“The soundtrack is absolutely breathtaking, as are the visuals and the storytelling.”
“The only good thing is the soundtrack; everything is janky and poorly optimized, there is barely any story, and following the only goal gets tedious and boring.”
“Copoka is a reminder that if you make a narrative-focused game, the narrative has to be able to carry the game, and no amount of lovely art and music is going to make up for a lackluster script.”
“Music is relaxing, though a bit repetitive.”
- gameplay23 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while the flight mechanics can be enjoyable and fluid, they are ultimately underutilized in a repetitive and simplistic collection-focused loop. Critics highlight the lack of challenge and refinement in the mechanics, leading to a feeling of boredom over time, despite some appreciating the relaxing nature of the experience. Overall, the game is seen as needing more depth and variety to elevate its gameplay beyond a basic collectathon.
“Gameplay-wise, the controls are great and fluid as you fly around gathering items to bring back to your nest in the center of the city.”
“So much in this game is beautifully crafted and well worth exploring, and the flying is so much fun that I honestly didn't miss any 'gameplay': I played, I enjoyed myself, job done.”
“Mechanically, it’s about a bird flying around a city while collecting things to build its nest.”
“This game features frustratingly unrefined mechanics paired with an 'ok' narrative about the pitfalls of government--in this case, a seemingly totalitarian dictatorship mostly akin to North Korea, as it's portrayed very cult-esque.”
“This would probably be the first major issue with the game, as it's kind of a boring repetitive gameplay loop.”
“No gameplay, no story, no optimization.”
- optimization16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 31 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players reporting poor performance, including low frame rates, lag, and crashes, even on high-end systems. While some users noted that the game runs smoothly at times, the overall experience is marred by inconsistent performance and a lack of polish in the options menu. Overall, the game is seen as needing substantial improvements in optimization to enhance gameplay.
“Graphics are pretty nice, though not very optimized considering I was getting an average of 55fps on my 144hz monitor and high-end custom gaming rig.”
“However, despite the game being locked to 60fps, it cannot always maintain this and drops to around 45-40fps at times, though chances are you will not notice this all too much, as the game otherwise runs smoothly and is relatively chill and relaxed in the first place.”
“The game clearly works well for the most part, which is why I am only mentioning this to point out the room and need for improvement, but also to make potential buyers who want their performance to be rock-solid and completely stable aware of it.”
“Poorly optimized and really obscure, fun for about 10 minutes but then you just get lost in where you have to go.”
“Okay, my complaint is the world feels cramped and compacted when it didn't need to be; but a larger game world requires more power to process, and the game is already unoptimized as-is.”
“The only real issue I had was bad optimization (low FPS, freezes, crashes, etc.) when flying above denser areas.”
- stability9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, unresponsive controls, and poor optimization leading to low frame rates, freezes, and crashes, particularly in denser areas. Many players have experienced issues such as glitches, invisible walls, and problems with controller recognition, which significantly detracts from the overall experience. Despite these challenges, some players express hope for improvements in future updates.
“Lifting off to fly can be buggy and unresponsive, and sometimes when you do manage to take off, you land.”
“Very buggy, unperformant engine, no response from dev in forums.”
“The only real issue I had was bad optimization (low FPS, freezes, crashes, etc.) when flying above denser areas.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is described as short, atmospheric, and low-key, enhanced by beautiful visuals and relaxing music. Players enjoy exploring the city and uncovering interesting scenes, which contribute to an engaging experience, particularly in the first couple of hours. Overall, the game's ambiance is a significant highlight, making it both captivating and soothing.
“The story surrounding the city is a good setting, and the things you uncover are interesting enough to give the atmosphere a boost.”
“Exploration-based game with great atmosphere, keeps you interested for about 2 hours.”
“It's also really relaxing because of the wonderful music and the atmosphere!”
“While flying around, you encounter scenes, collect things, and envelop the atmosphere, but that's about it.”
“The atmosphere feels empty and lacks any real engagement, making exploration feel pointless.”
“Despite the beautiful visuals, the atmosphere fails to evoke any real emotion or connection.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and poorly executed, with a lack of engaging story and repetitive collection tasks. The game's design choices, such as the proximity of slums to more affluent areas, contribute to a sense of jankiness and a lack of immersion, further exacerbating the grind. Overall, the experience is described as boring and forgettable.
“The only good thing is the soundtrack; everything is janky and poorly optimized. There is barely any story, and following the only goal gets tedious and boring.”
“The story and collection elements were tedious and forgettable.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game has low replayability, with users noting that while it may not offer much incentive to play again, it provides an enjoyable experience that lingers in memory.
“It's not highly replayable, but it's a fun experience that you may find yourself thinking about for a while after.”
“There's 0% replayability in the game, but I think anyone could get into it for the short ride.”
“Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to play it again.”
“The lack of varied outcomes makes replaying the game feel pointless.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a blend of cute and funny moments intertwined with subtle tragedies, creating a unique emotional experience that balances lightheartedness with poignancy.
“The humor in this game is brilliantly woven into the narrative, with little tragedies that are both cute and funny, creating a unique emotional experience.”
“The witty dialogue and clever puns kept me laughing throughout the game, making even the most serious moments feel lighthearted.”
“I love how the game balances humor with heartfelt moments, making the characters feel relatable and their misadventures genuinely entertaining.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users feel that the emotional impact of the game is lacking, citing a rudimentary and vague narrative that fails to engage them on a deeper level.