The Perfect Pencil

About

The Perfect Pencil is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Studio Cima and was released on January 29, 2026. It received 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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Play Modes

Single-Player

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90%

Audience ScoreBased on 29 reviews

story14 positive mentions

optimization1 negative mentions

The game features stunning, hand-drawn art and a unique, imaginative world rich with symbolism and emotional depth.
Engaging narrative with meaningful themes related to fear, shame, and human emotions, complemented by strong character development and quirky humor.
Enjoyable and responsive gameplay with creative exploration elements such as map orbs, evolving charms, and well-designed boss fights that avoid excessive difficulty.

The game suffers from technical issues including notorious Unity stutter and occasional unresponsive combat, impacting the fluidity of gameplay.
Pacing can be disrupted by excessive dialogue, frequent NPC interactions, and cryptic quest design, which may frustrate players preferring streamlined progression.
Map and travel systems are inconvenient, lacking custom markers and featuring a cumbersome fast-travel mechanic that unlocks late and requires backtracking.

story
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
29%
13%
The story is deeply engaging and emotionally resonant, exploring serious themes like fear and shame with a unique, meaningful narrative that unfolds gradually. Rich character designs, quirky humor, and a visually stunning environment complement its strong, immersive storytelling, making it appealing especially to fans of story-driven metroidvanias. While some players may find frequent NPC quests overwhelming, the overall narrative depth and balance between dialogue and action are widely praised.
- “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.”
- “This game is so enchanting since the beginning, the art is so unique and the atmosphere is endearing, it also speaks about mental issues, a theme also very close to my heart so I'm curious to see where the story goes!”
- “Think some Metroidvania fans aren’t going to 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.”
- “End of story.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
Gameplay is generally enjoyable and well-balanced, offering smooth combat and exploration that complement the narrative without being overly difficult or frustrating. Unique mechanics, such as the money-retrieval system and healing strike, add engaging risk-reward elements, while thematic character interactions enhance immersion despite occasional redundancy. Overall, gameplay supports the story effectively, providing a satisfying and accessible experience.
- “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.”
- “Gameplay is smooth: combat and exploration feel nice and they are not too taxing so you can easily focus on the story and the characters.”
- “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, making some instances of dialogue engaging while others redundant and, consequently, rendering the disruption of my gameplay flow a bit frustrating.”
- “Combat requires you to adjust to the rhythm of the game's design; if you ignore the underlying timing of the mechanical dance, it may feel unresponsive or sluggish.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by quirky, deadpan, and casually hilarious moments that balance well with its deep and serious narrative themes. It combines English-style humor with a touching story, adding refreshing and lighthearted elements to the metroidvania experience.
- “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 significantly enhance the game's atmosphere, offering immersive and well-developed audio that complements the story's themes. However, some users find the soundtrack average or occasionally reminiscent of low-quality flash games. Overall, the audio is praised for its contribution despite mixed opinions on the soundtrack's quality.
- “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 with careful, detailed craftsmanship, reminiscent of Hollow Knight. The visuals, combined with smooth controls and quirky humor, create an engaging and charming atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
- “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, let's see how it goes, 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%
Character development is praised for its unique and diverse designs, contributing to an enjoyable story and immersive atmosphere. The distinctive art style enhances the overall appeal of the characters.
- “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 is 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 character development. Despite gameplay occasionally taking a secondary role, the game’s touching story, combined with smooth controls, charming humor, and beautiful art, creates a memorable and heartfelt experience.
- “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, which is themed throughout this game, and the significance of each character during emotional states and the formula for moving past them.”
- “Despite the sombre set-up, The Perfect Pencil is a lovely, touching story to go through, complemented by smooth controls, quirky humor, beautiful art style, and interesting menus.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is widely praised for its unique and enchanting art style, immersive sound design, and well-developed music, which together create a captivating and emotionally resonant experience. Additionally, the game’s thoughtful exploration of mental health themes adds depth and personal significance for many players.
- “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 very close to my heart, so I'm curious to see where the story goes!”
- “I absolutely love the atmosphere and the unique character design.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization shows some issues, as users have reported experiencing stuttering during gameplay, indicating potential performance inconsistencies.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding is minimized by well-designed shortcuts that reduce travel time during exploration and backtracking, keeping revisiting areas engaging rather than tedious.