PaperKlay

About

PaperKlay is a single player platformer game. It was developed by WhyKev and was released on May 27, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

PaperKlay is a 3D platformer collect-a-thon where you open, unfold and rotate your way through a world made out of cardboard, paper, clay and other handcrafted materials. Rotate and unfold the environment to progress. PaperKlay has plenty of collectibles and an exciting world to explore at your own pace! Join the duo Chick & Nugget on a creative adventure as they journey across a paper a…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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91%

Audience ScoreBased on 158 reviews

graphics25 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

Charming and unique arts & crafts visual style with creative, handcrafted world design.
Tight, smooth, and responsive movement controls with a surprisingly deep moveset and satisfying platforming mechanics.
Engaging and cozy 3D platformer experience with a great soundtrack, solid voice acting, and plenty of content including collectibles, upgrades, and challenge levels.

Levels can feel overly linear and spacious with too many collectibles, sometimes leading to tedious backtracking to find missed items.
Some camera issues like aggressive auto-rotation and nauseating inertia effect, along with occasional control and hitbox inconsistencies.
Presence of bugs such as clipping through geometry, collision problems, and occasional sound volume issues, although the developer has actively patched many of these.

graphics
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
29%
8%
The game features a charming and nostalgic arts-and-crafts-inspired art style that is widely praised for its beauty, creativity, and unique handcrafted feel, often compared to titles like Yoshi’s Crafted World and LittleBigPlanet. While the visuals are delightful and paired with fitting, cheerful music, some users note the environments can feel sparse and gameplay issues like collision glitches slightly detract from the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are considered the game's strongest and most appealing aspect, greatly enhancing its cozy and fun atmosphere.
- “Paperklay is a charming little platformer whose 'all-paper' art style makes the levels enjoyable to explore and the collectathon satisfying to complete.”
- “The game's 'arts & crafts' aesthetic is beautiful and endearing, and the attention to detail in maintaining that handcrafted feel is worth celebrating.”
- “This game is wonderful - beautiful art style, fantastic music and 3D platforming that feels great!”
- “At first, I thought it was decent with its soundtrack and art (really beautifully made with the cardboard and paper visuals), but the movement is so simple and traversing is not fun. Plus, the collision feels off as I go through walls or even the ground itself, and some buttons go out of bounds, meaning you have to replay just to get everything sometimes.”
- “Outside of its charming arts and crafts aesthetic, the gimmick of being able to make entire level sections move and appear out of nowhere by spinning gear thingies and the good enough controls, this game doesn't do anything to keep itself interesting outside of that.”
- “Kind of sad to give this a thumbs down when the visuals and sound design (aside from all the characters yelling at you for some reason) seem pretty polished.”
music
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
31%
8%
The music in this game is widely praised for being charming, catchy, and well-suited to its whimsical, arts-and-crafts aesthetic, often drawing favorable comparisons to classic platformer soundtracks by Grant Kirkhope. While most find the soundtrack delightful and memorable, some note a lack of variety or repetitiveness, with a few finding certain tracks less enjoyable. Overall, the music significantly enhances the game's atmosphere and is considered a standout element alongside its visuals and voice acting.
- “The music is magical and playful at the same time, and the characters match the world and tone so well that you just know Kevin (the creator) put his whole heart and love into this game.”
- “With tracks featuring Grant Kirkhope (Banjo-Kazooie and Yooka-Laylee) and Steven Melin, the soundtrack instantly calls back to the genre’s heyday.”
- “The theme song is incredible and each individual level also has great music to listen to.”
- “The OST is generic and repetitive, with not a single one of its tracks standing out at all.”
- “The music isn't great, genuinely being grating to listen to.”
- “The music volume keeps dropping randomly for some reason, but that's relatively minor.”
gameplay
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
52%
10%
The gameplay is generally described as simple, forgiving, and enjoyable, with solid platforming mechanics and a focus on exploration and collectibles. While some find the mechanics underutilized and occasionally slow or repetitive, the game's charm, voice acting, and thoughtful design contribute to a satisfying and heartfelt experience that appeals especially to fans of cozy, relaxed playstyles.
- “The good: solid 3D platforming with nice controls, getting collectibles is satisfying throughout, reasonable difficulty level, level design that encourages exploration, satisfying to obtain upgrades and costumes, a nice art style with cute character designs, solid voice acting that adds to the experience, a dev that is listening to the players to improve the gameplay experience.”
- “Paperklay is clearly a labor of love, one that honors the classics while crafting its own story through sharp gameplay and a world stitched together with care.”
- “Also, every single line of dialogue is voice acted, so the gameplay flows super nicely because you never have to stop to read text, you can just experience the story while platforming around.”
- “The game is slow, there is no variety in gameplay, the gameplay it has is not particularly engaging, and you fight a hostile camera for a lot of the time.”
- “The paper folding/rotating mechanic feels a little underbaked from the two and a half worlds I played.”
- “The mechanic of 'turning' the world is fine, but it is never used for anything interesting.”
story
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
72%
12%
The story is simple, charming, and lighthearted, focusing on a cute duo rescuing their village’s eggs, supported by fully voice-acted dialogue that enhances immersion without feeling heavy or serious. While not deeply complex or groundbreaking, the narrative is complemented by engaging side quests and characters that add personal, enjoyable moments, making the overall experience pleasant and inviting.
- “Each of the four hub worlds contain quite some stuff to collect and "side" quests add just enough to story immersion.”
- “The lighthearted characters and story make it easy to jump in and play casually, without feeling too pressured or serious.”
- “Their personalities are distinct, and their chemistry carries the narrative more than the plot itself.”
- “I think they should have gone the Banjo/Kazooie/DK64 route with a simple story and no voice acting, because, oh my.”
- “The story is very secondary and doesn’t add much, but the small anecdotes and varied objectives in each level keep things interesting.”
- “I did hope we got more for Midnight and Blinky storywise though.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a wholesome and charming emotional experience with cute visuals, calming tone, and engaging voice acting. Players appreciate its family-friendly atmosphere and heartfelt characters, though some minor technical issues and pacing concerns have been noted and addressed by the developers. Overall, it offers a delightful and emotionally uplifting adventure suitable for all ages.
- “This is an awesome game that reminds me of Mario Galaxy, Little Big Planet, and more. I can't recommend this game enough for its calming tone, charming characters, and wholesome atmosphere.”
- “The dev has been very wholesome and committed to their game and the community, improving movement speed and fixing collision issues, making the experience much better.”
- “While I may be a thirty-something who enjoyed it, I'd imagine this would also be a great pick for a family looking for a wholesome game for their kids.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
14%
The humor in the game is generally appreciated for being charming, witty, and family-friendly, with many players finding the writing and characters amusing and adorable. However, some criticism is directed at the voice acting, which some find unfunny and poorly timed, detracting from the overall comedic experience. Overall, the game's humor is seen as a strong and enjoyable element.
- “The artwork is awesome, the music is perfect, and the humor just makes me smile!”
- “Beyond the mechanics, the writing is funny, the characters are adorable, the voice acting is great, and the music is phenomenal.”
- “This game out-littlebigplanets "Sackboy: A Big Adventure" in terms of charm, style, wit, and humor.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game is generally well-optimized with good overall performance and only minor bugs that do not affect gameplay. However, there was a notable crash issue when selecting a save file initially. The polish is evident in narrative and voice performances, though some find the gameplay less engaging.
- “A lot of polish was put into narrative performances and dialogue.”
- “For the most part, the performance is pretty good. There was only one big issue when I first tried to select a save file and the game immediately crashed, and a few minor bugs or glitches that had no effect on the game.”
- “The voice performances are especially a highlight; everyone in the cast is clearly having a lot of fun with their roles.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game demonstrates strong stability with smooth performance and no major glitches during gameplay, aside from an initial crash when selecting a save file. Minor bugs are rare and do not impact the overall experience, and it runs well even on devices like the Steam Deck.
- “Beautiful and runs great with amazing voice acting.”
- “Runs great on Steam Deck!”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its calming, charming, and wholesome tone, evoking a relaxing and upbeat vibe similar to titles like Mario Galaxy and Little Big Planet. It offers a casual, quiet adventure that invites players to unwind while enjoying its delightful characters and environment.
- “This is an awesome game that reminds me of Mario Galaxy, Little Big Planet, and more. I can't recommend this game enough for its calming tone, charming characters, and wholesome atmosphere.”
- “I haven't made it far in the game yet, and do expect the challenge to grow, but for now it's a charming, casual, and quiet adventure that sits on your desktop, continually inviting you to experience its chill vibes and upbeat atmosphere.”
- “Atmosphere is great.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding is generally seen as tedious and boring, often leading to frustration, with no rewarding achievements to offset the effort.
- “Grinding can become tedious and boring, eventually leading to frustration.”
- “Grinding achievements are undesirable and unenjoyable.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is enhanced through charming, cute designs and solid voice acting, which enrich the overall experience. While direct narrative growth isn't emphasized, player engagement with upgrades, costumes, and exploration fosters a satisfying sense of progression.