The Perfect Pencil

About

The Perfect Pencil is a single player platformer game with horror and mystery themes. It was developed by Studio Cima and was released on January 29, 2026. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

The Perfect Pencil is a surreal action platformer which tells the tale of personal development and the psychology of fear. Join protagonist John as he awakens in a bizarre hand-drawn kingdom and comes face-to-face with the terrors that dwell in the last place he'd have thought to look... Embark on an emotional odyssey exploring the depths of an unfamiliar environment using protagonist John's …

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90%

Audience ScoreBased on 29 reviews

story15 positive mentions

optimization1 negative mentions

Stunning and unique hand-drawn art style with immersive, symbolic biomes that reflect deep emotional themes.
Engaging narrative with rich, insightful characters and meaningful dialogue exploring psychology and human emotions.
Smooth and responsive controls with enjoyable exploration, creative map mechanics, and innovative gameplay elements like evolving charms and money retrieval mechanics.

Technical issues such as Unity stuttering and occasional framerate drops disrupt the gameplay experience.
Inconvenient fast travel system, lack of map markers, and sparse save points cause frustrating backtracking and navigation challenges.
Heavy emphasis on dialogue and numerous NPCs can disrupt pacing and some players may find riddles and mini-games tedious or overly cryptic.

story
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
33%
11%
The story of The Perfect Pencil is richly engaging, exploring deep themes like fear, shame, and mental struggles through a dark, symbolic, and often surreal narrative. It stands out for its narrative depth and meaningful atmosphere, complemented by unique character designs and hand-drawn art, making it highly recommended for fans of story-driven metroidvanias. However, its focus on storytelling and frequent NPC quests may not appeal to all players, and some may find the plot occasionally obtuse or overwhelming.
- “The perfect pencil tackles some very serious subject matter, with the nature of fear, shame, and the lengths to which people are willing to go in order to avoid discomfort being dominant themes that permeate nearly every aspect of the plot in interesting ways.”
- “One of the biggest strengths of the game is its storytelling: the story unfolds step by step, and you can only truly understand it by playing.”
- “The perfect pencil mixes a really cool hand-drawn style with a dark, symbolic story about inner struggles.”
- “Think some metroidvania fans aren’t gonna like an NPC and quest every 5 feet, but if it’s your thing then you may love it.”
- “I also wish there was some kind of quest screen to help remember what my active quests were from NPCs.”
- “[lengthy runbacks, storytelling can be a bit too obtuse, easy to get lost]”
gameplay
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
47%
20%
The gameplay is generally well-balanced, combining smooth combat and exploration with creative mechanics like a unique money-recovery system and a smart healing strike that add strategic depth. While it follows a familiar metroidvania formula, engaging enemy designs and an analysis mechanic keep it fresh, though some narrative-driven dialogue can occasionally disrupt flow. Overall, it's enjoyable and accessible, prioritizing emotional storytelling without sacrificing fun gameplay.
- “Instead of a corpse run, you have a guy who occasionally steals your money if you die, but you can get your money back if you find where he is hiding (and he will be near where you died); this mechanic does not trigger if you die to a boss.”
- “So far, the gameplay feels well balanced, not too hard or frustrating, but not too easy or boring either.”
- “The healing strike is a smart risk-reward mechanic and makes combat encounters more involved.”
- “Instead of a corpse run, you have a guy who occasionally steals your money if you die, but you can get your money back if you find where he is hiding (and he will be near where you died). This mechanic does not trigger if you die to a boss.”
- “In general, many of the characters in the game relate to a certain theme depending on the biome you are traversing, meaning that most of them would speak to me about the same thing but from a slightly different perspective. This makes some instances of dialogue engaging while others redundant, consequently disrupting my gameplay flow and making it a bit frustrating.”
- “Combat requires you to adjust to the rhythm of the game's design; if you ignore the underlying time of the mechanical dance, it may feel unresponsive or sluggish.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is quirky and deadpan, providing casual hilarity while complementing its deep and touching narrative. It balances serious themes with playful, English-style wit, adding charm without detracting from the story's emotional depth.
- “It's casually hilarious in wild ways, while still maintaining its deep themes.”
- “The game deals with serious topics but surprisingly has quite a lot of deadpan humor sprinkled throughout the dialogues.”
- “The perfect pencil controls smooth (Xbox controller), has already some refreshing Metroidvania elements, quirky humor, beautiful art style, interesting menu and, despite the sombre set-up, is a lovely, touching story to go through.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music and sound design are generally well-developed and enhance the game's atmosphere, creating a somber yet uplifting experience. However, some users find the soundtrack average or lacking in quality at times, detracting from the overall immersion.
- “I also play with Rig 500 Pro headphones for better immersion, and it’s absolutely worth it — the sound design and music are very well developed and add a lot to the atmosphere.”
- “The music and sound design colorfully weave the story's themes; somber and uplifting.”
- “Art and music are gorgeous and controls are nice and responsive.”
- “My biggest complaint is that the soundtrack is painfully average to below average and sounds like a Newgrounds flash game at times.”
graphics
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The graphics are highly praised for their polished, hand-drawn art style that is both beautiful and carefully crafted, showing clear inspiration from Hollow Knight. The visuals combine smooth controls, refreshing elements, and quirky humor, creating an engaging and emotionally touching experience. Overall, the game's art direction stands out as a major highlight, especially for fans of Metroidvanias and detailed, artistic visuals.
- “I’ve played for 68 minutes so far and I was immediately hooked by the visuals — the art direction is incredibly polished and clearly crafted with obsessive care.”
- “It is obviously very Hollow Knight inspired but I'm very surprised, didn't expect this level of polish. I absolutely recommend this game if you love Metroidvanias, English humor, and gorgeous hand-drawn graphics!”
- “I dig the art style.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development is praised for its unique and diverse designs, which enhance the overall enjoyable story and immersive atmosphere.
- “Story has been quite enjoyable and I love the character designs.”
- “I absolutely love the atmosphere and the unique character design.”
- “The art and character design are great and very diverse.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The Perfect Pencil delivers a deeply emotional and meaningful narrative that resonates with players through its portrayal of struggle and personal growth. Its touching story, quirky humor, and beautiful art style create a heartfelt experience, even though gameplay occasionally takes a secondary role.
- “All in all, The Perfect Pencil is a worthwhile game that boasts a very emotional and meaningful narrative, even if gameplay sometimes takes a backseat in favor of it.”
- “I'm sure many people relate to the portrayals of struggle themed throughout this game and the significance of each character during emotional states, as well as the formula for moving past them.”
- “The Perfect Pencil controls smoothly (Xbox controller), has some refreshing MV elements, quirky humor, beautiful art style, interesting menu, and despite the sombre setup, is a lovely, touching story to experience.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game’s atmosphere is widely praised for its unique art style, immersive sound design, and enchanting mood that deeply resonate with players. Its thoughtful incorporation of themes like mental health adds emotional depth, enhancing the overall experience.
- “I absolutely love the atmosphere and the unique character design.”
- “I also play with Rig 500 Pro headphones for better immersion, and it’s absolutely worth it — the sound design and music are very well developed and add a lot to the atmosphere.”
- “This game is so enchanting from the beginning; the art is unique and the atmosphere is endearing. It also addresses mental health issues, a theme close to my heart, so I'm curious to see where the story goes.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game exhibits some stuttering issues, indicating room for improvement in optimization to ensure smoother performance.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is minimized by well-designed shortcuts that reduce travel time after death or backtracking, keeping exploration engaging and preventing repetitive tedium.

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79%Critics’ scoreBased on 5 critic reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions

The Perfect Pencil is a platformer game with horror and mystery themes.

The Perfect Pencil is available on PC, Steam Deck and Windows.

The Perfect Pencil was released on January 29, 2026.

The Perfect Pencil was developed by Studio Cima.

The Perfect Pencil has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its optimization.

The Perfect Pencil is a single player game.

Similar games include Constance, Voidwrought, Winds Of Arcana: Ruination, Lone Fungus, HAAK and others.

The Perfect Pencil

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