Fall of Porcupine

Fall of Porcupine is a beautiful and haunting narrative game drenched in mystery that any cozy game fan will love.

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"Fall of Porcupine" is a narrative-driven adventure game set in a dystopian future. As the player, you are a detective investigating a series of mysterious disappearances in the city of Porcupine. The game features a unique blend of puzzles, exploration, and dialogue, immersing you in a rich, atmospheric world filled with secrets to uncover. Your choices and actions will determine the fate of the city and its inhabitants.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 227 reviews

story83 positive mentions

stability31 negative mentions

Beautiful art style and charming characters that create an engaging atmosphere.
Interesting story that touches on the struggles of healthcare workers, providing emotional depth.
Fun mini-games that break up the narrative and add variety to gameplay.

Numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including soft locks and dialogue issues.
The pacing is uneven, with a slow build-up followed by a rushed ending that leaves many plot points unresolved.
Some mini-games can be frustratingly difficult, and the grading system does not impact the story.

story
267 mentions
31 % positive mentions
67 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The story of "Fall of Porcupine" is described as engaging and heartfelt, exploring themes related to the healthcare system and the struggles of its workers. However, many reviewers noted that the narrative suffers from pacing issues, an abrupt ending, and unresolved plot points, leaving a sense of incompleteness. While the characters and atmosphere are praised, the overall execution of the story is seen as lacking depth and closure, which detracts from the emotional impact intended by the developers.
- “Fall of Porcupine is a beautiful story about the state of the healthcare system in general.”
- “The story itself is heartfelt and hard-hitting.”
- “I loved the story and how free it felt to play.”
- “There were plot points that didn't get tied up, potential character growth that didn't happen, and moving around the large map felt like a chore.”
- “The game's characters and plot honestly fall flat.”
- “The story feels very relatable from my time starting out my working career, lots of doubt in oneself and a lot of responsibility very quickly.”
graphics
65 mentions
55 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have been widely praised for their beautiful and charming art style, reminiscent of "Night in the Woods," which many players found visually appealing and engaging. However, some reviews noted the presence of graphical bugs and glitches that detracted from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the artwork and character designs are highlighted as standout features that enhance the game's atmosphere and storytelling.
- “The artwork is beautiful, and the healthcare mini-games are quite fun.”
- “The visuals are stunning, and there’s a unique style that really draws you in.”
- “Absolutely love the artwork!”
- “Many small graphical bugs like objects/characters not being in the correct layer, permanent objects disappearing one day only to reappear the day after (like the paint outline), speech bubbles floating out of the screen so you can't read all the text, NPCs disappearing into walls where no door is, and button prompts not vanishing completely, but instead getting stuck halfway on the edge of the screen (this happened a lot).”
- “Nice game (to the point) but had a game-breaking bug after traveling to the woods, just black screen, no visuals; options (esc) and sound still work somehow.”
- “I encountered numerous benign graphical bugs, but also a couple of annoying UI glitches.”
music
62 mentions
58 % positive mentions
37 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its beauty and ability to enhance the emotional atmosphere, while others noted issues with audio quality and a lack of variety. Players appreciated the soundtrack's calming and ambient qualities, although some experienced glitches that affected the music's presence during gameplay. Overall, the music is considered a strong aspect of the game, contributing positively to the overall experience despite some technical shortcomings.
- “A truly touching story represented within a fun casual game (not to mention the soundtrack is outstanding)!”
- “Absolutely beautiful game with amazing music, wonderful characters, and charming gameplay.”
- “The soundtrack was also wonderful and helped add to the relaxing atmosphere of the game to reinforce the mood.”
- “The music has a small but not interesting set of pieces, with the title screen music being the most prominent.”
- “I would have liked a wider variety of soundtracks.”
- “There were also several audio issues where the music would stutter or freeze altogether, but even with that, the game was playable to the end.”
gameplay
34 mentions
15 % positive mentions
76 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mixed experience, featuring simple mechanics and a variety of minigames that can be both enjoyable and frustrating due to bugs and convoluted design. Players often encounter issues with condition tracking and repetitive tasks, leading to a tedious experience at times, despite the game's charming art and music. Overall, while the game offers a cozy atmosphere and engaging story elements, its execution suffers from technical problems and uneven pacing.
- “Absolutely beautiful game with amazing music, wonderful characters, and charming gameplay.”
- “There is about 9-10 hours of gameplay and I bought the game when it was on sale for $11.99, I'm happy overall and I would've been okay with paying the $19.99 for it.”
- “Mechanically, your work in the hospital is depicted by minigames: a pseudo rhythm game for stethoscope use, a math puzzle for medication, a logic puzzle for diagnosis, and a sort of timed event for injection.”
- “The messy and incomplete implementation of condition/world state tracking makes what is at times tedious gameplay all the more frustrating when you lose progress or have to repeatedly restart to clear out of a bad state.”
- “I get why gameplay-wise they included puzzles to be 'doctoring', but they are convoluted, poorly explained, and buggy.”
- “Gameplay-wise it's a really mixed bag; minigames can be ridiculously hard, but then again failing doesn't translate into anything (also the grading system is bonkers; I got an 'S' mark most of the time, yet still got a ':(' face near the mark).”
emotional
34 mentions
97 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its heartfelt storytelling and relatable characters, often evoking strong feelings such as laughter and tears. Many players found the narrative touching, particularly in its exploration of themes related to healthcare and the inevitability of death, though some noted inconsistencies in execution that detracted from the overall impact. Overall, the game is recommended for those seeking an introspective and emotionally charged experience, despite some critiques regarding its polish and depth.
- “This game was written incredibly wholesome, yet its purpose is to shine a light on an important topic.”
- “A truly touching story represented within a fun casual game (not to mention the soundtrack is outstanding)!”
- “It is a heartfelt story and will pull on your heartstrings.”
- “It emotionally scarred me, for better or for worse.”
stability
31 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game is plagued by numerous stability issues, including frequent glitches, bugs, and dialogue errors that detract from the overall experience. Players report game-breaking problems such as unresponsive controls, visual bugs, and inconsistent state tracking, often requiring restarts to progress. While the story and atmosphere are appreciated, the overwhelming technical issues lead many to recommend waiting for patches before playing.
- “Whether it is visual bugs such as text overlaying text, random floating UI just visible in the margins of the screen or character and scenery glitches, button inputs that simply don't work, and messy state tracking in the world that either causes you to lose progress if you do things out of a certain order or, worse, have to restart the game to clear your status (and have to redo a bunch of tasks).”
- “I encountered several game-breaking bugs: the fuse box that you had to activate was not interactable, some dialogue did not progress, the phone did not open, NPCs having the same dialogue or none, and several minor visual glitches.”
- “Unfortunately, this game is also a buggy mess and it's just not something I can recommend in this state.”
atmosphere
17 mentions
53 % positive mentions
29 % neutral mentions
18 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beautiful art style, engaging character designs, and immersive storytelling, creating a cozy and nostalgic experience. While some technical issues and plot inconsistencies detract from the overall experience, the soundtrack and setting contribute significantly to the game's relaxing and captivating ambiance. Overall, players find the atmosphere to be a standout feature, enhancing their enjoyment despite other shortcomings.
- “But overall I recommend this game for its beautiful atmosphere, characters, storytelling, and moral lessons that it has in store.”
- “Everything looks so nice, the character designs are great and you are really drawn into the atmosphere.”
- “The soundtrack was also wonderful and helped add to the relaxing atmosphere of the game to reinforce the mood.”
- “Some are serious enough to require a restart (talking to a certain NPC after a cutscene disables your movement controls, pressing the wrong button when starting the dancing minigame changed my game language to French, etc.), but even the purely cosmetic ones are a hammer blow to the immersion and atmosphere.”
- “I understand this is used intentionally in some cases but too often it just seemed to be missing, and would have otherwise boosted the atmosphere and general feel of the game to another level.”
- “So many typos and grammar issues in the dialogue, and could be a bit clunky at times (glitches and mini games not working correctly) but the story and atmosphere and characters were well done so I was enjoying it anyways.”
character development
10 mentions
70 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its visually appealing designs and consistent writing, which effectively convey the characters' personalities. However, many reviewers feel that the narrative lacks depth and fails to fully explore character arcs, with some plotlines left unresolved and a slow progression that diminishes emotional connection. While the atmosphere and art style are celebrated, the overall character development is seen as underwhelming, particularly in the latter parts of the game.
- “The character designs are visually fantastic and consistently written, the soundtrack is great, and the vibes of the game are nice.”
- “The character designs are extremely cute; you can immediately recognize everyone's personalities from the way they're designed.”
- “The writing is fun, the character designs and art are super well done; it's just a genuinely really good spiritual successor to Night in the Woods.”
- “Unfortunately, I really couldn't connect with it. The character development was so slow and never really deep, and the bugs broke certain areas of the game, making it super unenjoyable.”
optimization
10 mentions
20 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
30 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with users reporting various bugs such as NPCs getting stuck, sound issues, and stuttering during gameplay. While some players experience smooth performance on lower-end hardware, others face significant problems that detract from the overall experience, indicating that further optimization is needed to address these issues.
- “The game itself runs smoothly; I have no technical issues so far with a mediocre notebook.”
- “Overall, if the bugs and performance problems are fixed and you like it, you might give it a try.”
- “Optimization needs more work. During a major event in the game, the developers decided to sprinkle in some particle effects which were so bad that my game first lost sound, then froze entirely.”
- “There are sound bugs when you talk to someone. If you didn't restart the game, the sound bugs got worse from just 'kinda stuttering' to going completely silent the longer you played.”
- “Firstly, multiple areas were not optimized, resulting in stuttering when moving.”
humor
9 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, featuring funny characters, a charming art style, and moments of comedic absurdity, such as a falling goat. While some players noted that the humor occasionally mirrors that of a popular predecessor, it successfully delivers amusing scenarios, particularly in RPG-like minigames. However, minor bugs and pacing issues detract slightly from the overall experience, though many found these quirks to be more humorous than problematic.
- “Funny character and nice art style.”
- “There's one pretty serious event in the game that pretty much starts most of the drama of this story and has major consequences later, but while you're doing it, it's just a funny RPG-like minigame with funny music and goofy attacks!”
- “I was hooked after I had played the demo: reminding me of 'Scrubs' with its setting, atmosphere, and humor; 'Fall of Porcupine' makes me really nostalgic.”
grinding
8 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often exacerbated by bugs and incomplete mechanics that lead to lost progress. While some tasks can be enjoyable, many feel repetitive and lack meaningful rewards, resulting in a gameplay experience that can feel like a chore rather than an engaging adventure. Overall, the combination of long conversations, excessive backtracking, and unresolved plotlines contributes to a sense of monotony.
- “The messy and incomplete implementation of condition/world state tracking makes what is at times tedious gameplay all the more frustrating when you lose progress or have to repeatedly restart to clear out of a bad state.”
- “Some tasks are genuinely enjoyable while others do get a bit monotonous and tedious, and don't truly have an impact on the story regardless of whether you pass or fail.”
- “This game is tedious with the amount of running around and backtracking, only to discover there really aren't secrets or payoffs for your exploration.”
replayability
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Users highlight the game's exceptional replayability, emphasizing that it offers a highly engaging experience that encourages multiple playthroughs.
- “Replayability to the extreme!”
- “Every playthrough feels fresh and exciting!”
- “The variety of choices keeps me coming back for more!”