Fall of Porcupine

About

"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

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 463 reviews

story167 positive mentions

stability62 negative mentions

Beautiful art style and charming character designs that create an engaging atmosphere.
The game tackles important themes related to the healthcare system, providing a heartfelt narrative.
Interesting mini-games that add variety to the gameplay experience.

Numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including game-breaking issues.
The pacing is uneven, with a slow start that leads to a rushed and unsatisfying ending.
Many plot points and character arcs feel unresolved, leaving players with unanswered questions.

story
537 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
67%
2%
The story of "Fall of Porcupine" is described as heartfelt and engaging, exploring the challenges faced by healthcare workers, but it suffers from pacing issues and an abrupt ending that leaves many plot points unresolved. While the characters and art design are praised, the narrative's slow start and lack of closure detract from the overall experience, leading to mixed feelings among players. Despite its flaws, the game is recommended for those who appreciate emotional storytelling and charming visuals.
- “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 found the characters and story and art design very engaging.”
- “This game was gearing up to be really enjoyable but ended at the climax of the story.”
- “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.”
graphics
134 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
42%
4%
The graphics of "Fall of Porcupine" are widely praised for their beautiful and charming art style, reminiscent of "Night in the Woods," which enhances the game's atmosphere and character interactions. However, many players noted the presence of graphical bugs and glitches that detracted from the overall experience, suggesting that while the visuals are stunning, the game could benefit from additional polish. Overall, the art style is a significant highlight, drawing players in with its nostalgic and cute aesthetic.
- “The visuals are stunning, and there’s a unique style that really draws you in.”
- “The artwork is beautiful, and the healthcare mini-games are quite fun.”
- “Fall of Porcupine has a distinct visual art style best resembled by the game 'Night in the Woods' and this was the main reason for me to buy it as I hoped for it to be a worthy sequel.”
- “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.”
- “The cute art style and evocative soundtrack are its main drawcards, and while the wide-eyed animals can mask the dark themes of an unhealthy system, they can’t quite cover up the haphazard story or keep players engaged.”
music
127 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
40%
3%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its beauty and ability to enhance the emotional experience, while others noted issues with volume and variety. Players appreciated the calming and ambient soundtrack, which complements the game's art and narrative, but some expressed a desire for a wider selection of tracks and highlighted instances of music glitches. Overall, the music is seen as a strong aspect of the game, contributing positively to its atmosphere 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.”
emotional
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
97%
2%
1%
The emotional aspect of "Fall of Porcupine" resonates deeply with players, often eliciting strong feelings of empathy and introspection. Many reviewers highlight the game's heartfelt narrative and relatable characters, which effectively address serious themes related to healthcare and mortality, leading to moments of laughter and tears. While some note that the game could benefit from additional polish and tighter storytelling, its emotional impact and beautiful art style make it a memorable experience worth recommending.
- “A truly touching story represented within a fun casual game (not to mention the soundtrack is outstanding)!”
- “Emotionally charged, and at times painful to experience, this game is really one to play if you feel like being a bit introspective and want a chance to view not just healthcare workers but people as a whole in a new light.”
- “Fall of Porcupine has a hard-hitting story beneath its wholesome veneer, with fun mini-games and memorable characters that are as cute as they are well-written.”
- “It emotionally scarred me, for better or for worse.”
gameplay
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
78%
6%
The gameplay of the game is a mixed experience, featuring simple mechanics and a variety of minigames that can be convoluted, poorly explained, and buggy, leading to frustration. While the game offers around 9-10 hours of content with charming characters and a cozy atmosphere, it suffers from repetitive tasks and numerous bugs that detract from the overall enjoyment. Players noted that the pacing is uneven, with a slow build-up and a lack of engaging gameplay elements, making it feel rushed and incomplete.
- “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.”
- “There were several game-effecting bugs, aspects of gameplay that did not account for ghosting on keyboards, and the pace of the story is wildly uneven.”
stability
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is plagued by numerous stability issues, including frequent glitches, bugs that disrupt gameplay, and problems with dialogue and minigames. Many players reported game-breaking errors that required restarts, as well as visual and audio bugs that detracted from the overall experience. While the story and atmosphere are appreciated, the overwhelming number of technical problems has led to a consensus that the game feels unfinished and is not recommended in its current state.
- “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
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
38%
9%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beautiful art style, engaging character designs, and a relaxing soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. Players feel drawn into the charming and nostalgic settings, despite some technical issues and narrative shortcomings. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
- “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
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
73%
22%
5%
Character development in the game is visually appealing, with charming character designs that effectively convey personalities; however, many players feel that the depth of character growth is lacking and progresses too slowly. While the atmosphere and writing are praised, some plotlines remain unresolved, leading to a sense of missed potential, particularly in the game's final act. Overall, the game showcases strong artistic elements but falls short in delivering a satisfying and cohesive character development experience.
- “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.”
- “If you're looking for a great looking and sounding game that has incredible writing and character development, look no further.”
- “Unfortunately, I really couldn't connect with it. The character development was so slow and never really deep; the bugs broke certain areas of the game, making it super unenjoyable.”
optimization
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
54%
32%
The game's optimization is criticized for numerous bugs, including NPCs getting stuck, stuttering music, and sound issues that worsen over time without a restart. While some players report smooth performance on lower-end hardware, the overall experience is marred by significant optimization problems that detract from enjoyment, suggesting that substantial patches are needed to address these issues effectively.
- “<3 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 nitw, you might give it a try.”
- “Performance bugs can be treated with patches, but it’ll take more than a band-aid solution to cure the ailments in Fall of Porcupine.”
- “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.”
- “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
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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 sometimes tries to emulate a well-known predecessor and doesn't always succeed, the overall experience is enhanced by quirky minigames and nostalgic references, despite minor bugs that often add to the comedic effect.
- “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 played the demo: reminding me of 'Scrubs' with its setting, atmosphere, and humor; 'Fall of Porcupine' makes me really nostalgic.”
grinding
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is frequently criticized for its tediousness, with players noting repetitive tasks, excessive backtracking, and long conversations that often lack meaningful content. While some elements are enjoyable, the overall experience can feel monotonous and frustrating, especially due to bugs and an incomplete narrative that leaves players feeling unsatisfied. The slow pacing, particularly in the early acts, contributes to a sense of tedium that may deter more impatient players.
- “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.”
- “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.”
- “The conversations are long and tedious; you don't really learn anything from them.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Users overwhelmingly praise the game's replayability, highlighting it as a standout feature that encourages multiple playthroughs. The excitement and variety offered in each session contribute to an engaging experience that keeps players coming back for more.
- “Replayability to the extreme!”
- “Replayability to the extreme!”
- “Replayability to the extreme!”