Koi

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 57 reviews

music15 positive mentions

replayability2 negative mentions

Koi features beautiful graphics and a lovely soundtrack that create a calming atmosphere.
The game is simple and easy to play, making it a good choice for casual gamers looking for a relaxing experience.
At its low price point, Koi offers decent value for those seeking a short, tranquil gaming session.

The gameplay can feel repetitive and lacks depth, with many levels being large and empty, leading to wasted time.
Sound design is poorly balanced, with no options to adjust volume, making it stressful for some players instead of relaxing.
The game has frustrating mechanics, such as memory puzzles that reset on failure and an unclear narrative that can leave players confused.

music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
10%
15%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while many players appreciate its beauty and ability to enhance the atmosphere, others criticize it for being overly repetitive and lacking volume adjustment options. The soundtrack is often described as lovely and soothing, complementing the visuals well, but some find the sound design unbalanced and distracting. Overall, the music is seen as a highlight for its charm, despite its limitations.
- “The soundtrack is lovely and beautifully accompanies the visuals which are charming in their own special way.”
- “It is engaging and has nice music that sets the mood really well.”
- “Lovely little gem, beautiful graphics, great sound and music.”
- “You're constantly bombarded with sound effects of water drops, which I perceive as stressful, and there are no options to adjust the SFX or music volume.”
- “Music is absolutely, mindbogglingly repetitive, to the point where the first song repeats the same note throughout the entire piece.”
- “I wish there was a way to turn down the music volume (and the sound effects! I jumped every time my koi fish was electrocuted!).”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
87%
13%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and charm, with many reviewers highlighting the relaxing and colorful art style that enhances the overall experience. The visuals are described as clean and simple yet effective, complementing the lovely soundtrack and contributing to a soothing gameplay atmosphere. Overall, the game's graphics are considered a standout feature, making it a delightful visual treat for players.
- “The soundtrack is lovely and beautifully accompanies the visuals which are charming in their own special way.”
- “Relaxing and beautiful art style and the control is so fluid and smooth.”
- “This game offers outstanding music, mesmerizing graphics and colorful effects as well as super simple and smooth controls that all added up to a whopping 98% score from me!”
story
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
45%
27%
The story in the game is minimal and primarily revealed through collecting puzzle pieces, which can lead to an unclear narrative unless players engage deeply with the environment. While the plot is simple and somewhat abrupt, it is complemented by charming illustrations and a progressively darker setting, creating an emotionally resonant experience. Overall, the game offers a relaxing, fairy-tale-like journey, enhanced by soothing soundtracks and light quests, despite its large, often empty levels.
- “The setting gets progressively darker as the koi approaches the end of the story, and the level in the night sky is beautiful.”
- “Despite its minimalist approach to storytelling, Koi manages to be quite an emotionally loaded game.”
- “A linear puzzle game with a storybook fairy-tale quality to it.”
- “The ending is abrupt and the story is incredibly unclear unless you find every single puzzle piece.”
- “Levels are often too large and mostly empty but will still have collectibles scattered about that are tied to understanding the game’s story, and even when following the path of mandatory action, your tasks are mostly just about moving around or doing busy work in the form of matching puzzles.”
- “The story is very minimal but it does lend itself well to being a positive experience.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
13%
25%
The gameplay is characterized by its simplicity and relaxing nature, making it easy to learn and enjoyable for short sessions. However, it suffers from a lack of depth, with repetitive mini-games and inconsistent mechanics that detract from the overall experience. While the audiovisual design is cohesive and engaging, the gameplay ultimately feels shallow and underdeveloped.
- “I found some of the memory sequences pretty hard to remember, but overall the gameplay is smooth, intuitive, and pleasant.”
- “The gameplay gets more and more immersive as well.”
- “The audiovisual design work is incredibly cohesive, and despite the gameplay simplicity, it does enough to keep your attention for its short play time.”
- “Sound design is poor at best, with random water droplet sounds that correspond with ripples on screen, which have nothing to do with the gameplay itself.”
- “It's also only an hour long, has pointless stealth mechanics, no consistency in puzzles, a nonsensical plot, and generally just feels like a totally empty game.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is generally described as pleasing and lovely, contributing positively to the experience. However, some players feel that design choices detract from the overall ambiance, making the gameplay feel frustrating and detracting from the game's magical qualities.
- “The controls are smooth and simplistic, and the atmosphere is pretty pleasing.”
- “The atmosphere is really lovely.”
- “Because of these solutions, the game quickly loses the atmosphere of its magic, aside from some highlights that make the title worth its price.”
- “I can only say that for the money you paid, it is worth it, but I can't really say anything else positive. A lot of times, it feels like it desperately makes you lose as much time as possible to make you lose time (and not for atmosphere). The star level, above all else, feels just frustrating, with the white fishes only getting in the way while not being a real threat. The immense and useless space is made just for you to make more and more rounds.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
100%
The game's replayability is mixed; some players find potential for replay due to missed content during initial playthroughs, while others feel it offers very little incentive to replay.
- “While casually playing through it, I didn't get a fair amount of them, so there's some replayability there.”
- “While casually playing through it, I did not get a fair amount of them, so there's some replayability there.”
- “[Very short, little to no replay value]”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have noted the presence of a persistent and unusual advertisement for an anime that appears repeatedly in the corner of the main menu, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “There was a weird advertisement for an anime that would pop up in the corner on the main menu on loop for whatever reason?”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Koi effectively conveys deep emotions through its minimalist storytelling, resonating with players despite its simple narrative structure.
- “Despite its minimalist approach to storytelling, Koi manages to be quite an emotionally charged game.”
- “The emotional depth of the characters really resonated with me, making their journeys feel personal and impactful.”
- “I was genuinely moved by the game's ability to evoke such strong feelings through its simple yet profound narrative.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to repetitive memory puzzles that can detract from the overall enjoyment and flow of gameplay.
- “The grinding feels like an endless cycle of tedious memory puzzles.”
- “I find the grinding aspect to be incredibly repetitive and boring.”
- “The amount of grinding required to progress is overwhelming and takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”