SHEEPO
- February 28, 2020
- Kyle Thompson
- 3h median play time
Sheepo has a charming aesthetic, tight gameplay, and an excellently balanced level of difficulty. It's short but the length feels just right all the same.
Get on Steam"Sheepo is a single-player Metroidvania platformer with a unique plot and humor-filled atmosphere. As a shape-shifting sheep, explore an alien planet, collecting species samples, and avoid combat through tight platforming and exploration. With each collected egg, gain new abilities to uncover hidden secrets in this spectacular, visually stunning game with an outstanding soundtrack."
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Steam Deck
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- Charming art style and relaxing music create a delightful atmosphere.
- Fun and fluid platforming mechanics with unique shapeshifting abilities that enhance gameplay.
- Great for casual players, offering a light challenge without overwhelming difficulty.
- Some platforming sections can feel frustrating due to awkward controls and imprecise mechanics.
- The game is relatively short, which may leave some players wanting more content.
- Lack of combat and minimal story may not appeal to those looking for a more traditional metroidvania experience.
- gameplay66 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this metroidvania/platformer is characterized by smooth controls, engaging platforming mechanics, and a charming aesthetic, making it accessible and enjoyable for players. The unique transformation mechanics add variety to exploration and puzzle-solving, while the game offers a satisfying progression and replayability, especially with its hard mode that enhances the challenge. Overall, it is praised for its polished execution and delightful atmosphere, despite some minor frustrations with specific mechanics.
“This game is truly a hidden gem that keeps on giving good mechanics throughout the whole game.”
“The gameplay is smooth, the music is nice, the art is unique!”
“It's a platforming-centric physics-based metroidvania with great music, great writing, and a ton of gameplay variety.”
“The gameplay is just mostly platforming, which, although isn't bad, isn't that great either.”
“Additionally, sometimes the boss fights bring a bit of a difficulty jump, which, with the slightly sloppy leaping mechanics, can be extra frustrating.”
“Unlike most of the games in this genre, it has no direct combat as the gameplay is completely focused on platforming.”
- music55 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming, whimsical, and catchy qualities, contributing significantly to the overall atmosphere and enjoyment. While some players noted the limited number of tracks, they found the sound design to be well-polished and fitting, enhancing the game's charm and vibe. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, elevating the gameplay experience and creating a delightful ambiance.
“The art, the sound design, the music, the gameplay, the feel of it, everything just works together to provide you with this condensed little package of pure happiness and joy and fun.”
“The music gives the game a strangely wistful feeling; hard to explain, but walking into a new area and hearing a new track always made me stop and listen for a bit.”
“A stellar soundtrack, excellent movement, and great exploration.”
“There are only like 7 or 8 songs that play throughout the entire game, but they are strange and oddly catchy.”
“Music, sound & graphics were both a bit bland but are acceptable enough.”
“The game is carried extremely hard by the art and soundtrack and even then it is only a slight recommendation.”
- graphics40 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and minimalist art style, with many reviewers highlighting the beautiful visuals and appealing character designs. While some noted that the graphics can be basic or predictable, the overall aesthetic is considered delightful and well-executed, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere. The combination of cute visuals and a catchy soundtrack enhances the overall experience, making it a standout feature of the game.
“A total gem of a metroidvania with gorgeous visuals and creative music.”
“I absolutely love the art style; it looks like a lot of care was put into making everything look nice, and it shows!”
“Sheepo is a cute little metroidvania with a stunning art style and the best music I've ever heard.”
“The graphics are predictably basic, though quite colorful and nice to look at; just don't go expecting anything really entrancing.”
“As far as exploration, it can get a little repetitive because there are not many unique locations with exciting visuals.”
“Even though I feel like developers cut a few corners on the visual design of the world, I assume they did it to improve the gameplay because that part works very well.”
- story28 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally described as light and cute, with charming characters and humorous elements that enhance the overall experience. While some players appreciate the creative aspects and fun vibes, others find the narrative lacking depth or coherence, often viewing it as secondary to the gameplay. Overall, it offers an enjoyable, albeit simplistic, storyline that serves as a backdrop for the platforming and puzzle elements.
“I love the story vibes and I think this is one of the most creative metroidvanias out there.”
“The visuals, the simple story, the cute characters, everything was really charming.”
“Story of a cute creature and his journey to 'save the planet of Cebron', Sheepo is full of humor and well-paced.”
“It's a really short metroidvania with very little story.”
“I also disliked how the game is not giving me any incentive (or even hints) to press forward as the story is simply too nonsensical.”
“There is no such story, just that you need to collect eggs for some reason!”
- atmosphere13 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 15 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its charming and soothing qualities, featuring cute art design, delightful music, and a relaxing vibe that enhances the gameplay experience. Reviewers note that it successfully balances a dreamy ambiance with engaging challenges, making it accessible and enjoyable for newcomers and seasoned players alike. Overall, the atmosphere is described as both inviting and immersive, evoking nostalgic feelings reminiscent of beloved titles.
“It has a great vibe/atmosphere, fun and relaxing music, cute characters, and a satisfying progression to the gameplay.”
“The atmosphere of the game is so soothing that not even dying six times straight can make me angry.”
“Amazing atmosphere, charming characters, and lovely music.”
“The atmosphere of the game is so soothing that not even dying six times in a row can make me angry.”
“More than anything, the atmosphere of this game gave off Knytt Underground vibes, which, I mean, if you can invoke similar feelings as literally my favorite game of all time, then yeah, I'm going to like your thing a lot, I think.”
“Everything conspires to create a consistent, dreamy, and friendly atmosphere.”
- humor12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by charming dialogue, funny transformations, and unexpected narrative twists that contribute to a lighthearted and enjoyable experience. Players appreciate the whimsical characters and clever quips, which enhance the overall charm despite some moments being hit or miss. Overall, the game successfully blends humor with engaging gameplay mechanics, making it a delightful addition to the metroidvania genre.
“The story is pretty light but the funny quips more than make up for it.”
“This game is charming and funny.”
“Unique metroidvania with fun movement mechanics and great humor.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability, particularly for achievement hunters and speedrunners, with a completion time of 4-5 hours. Players are motivated to replay due to the addictive gameplay, the unlocking of new areas and abilities, and the presence of achievements that enhance the overall experience. Additionally, a special door unlocks only upon achieving 100%, further incentivizing multiple playthroughs.
“Instant replayability, addictive gameplay—especially for gamers who get dopamine hits when unlocking new areas, abilities, and secrets.”
“It's short, but has decent replay value if you're an achievement hunter or speedrunner.”
“You can complete the game in around 4-5 hours, but it also has good achievement support that encourages replay value, in addition to a door that only unlocks at 100%.”
“+ good use of achievements, some encourage replay value.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game evokes a wholesome emotional experience, focusing on learning and strategy rather than combat, which enhances its charm. The cute design of the bosses and the heartwarming ending photos contribute to a feel-good atmosphere that resonates with players.
“It has a wholesome feel to it, and I enjoyed not having to fight as much, as a lot of the boss battles are more about learning the boss patterns and avoiding them to then use their weapon against them.”
“They were all really cute, which made the ending photos all the more wholesome.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the visuals and audio of the game are praised for their charm, the character development appears to be less impactful, with designs described as "derpy" and lacking depth. Overall, the focus seems to be more on aesthetics than on meaningful character growth.
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is highly praised, with users reporting excellent performance, including no frame rate drops or bugs.
“Performance is excellent; there are no FPS drops or bugs whatsoever.”
“The game runs smoothly, providing a seamless experience without any technical issues.”
“Optimization is top-notch, ensuring that gameplay remains fluid and enjoyable.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect tedious, particularly due to the repetitive nature of running back and forth between the same areas.
“It feels tedious to run back and forth between the same rooms so often.”
“The grinding is repetitive and takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”
“I find myself doing the same tasks over and over, which makes the game feel like a chore.”
Critic Reviews
Sheepo Review
Sheepo never gets boring throughout its three-hour run time. It was correctly paced and had some delightful moments, both in narrative and tone as well as platforming puzzles. While it does try to change some things up from its competitors, nothing it does is better than other games in the genre. This isn't bad though and fans of 'Metroidvanias' are in for an enjoyable time as it manages to scratch the itch for a 2D open-world platformer, even if it's only for a couple of hours.
70%Sheepo Review
Everything you do, it’s all for the better.
60%Sheepo (Nintendo Switch)
While Sheepo has some flaws, the solid platforming coupled with shape-shifting mechanics more than make this worthy of your time. Definitely worth checking out.
80%
