United Penguin Kingdom
- March 9, 2024
- Turquoise Revival Games
- 16h median play time
Get on SteamIn United Penguin Kingdom, construct a thriving penguin settlement with various buildings like food producers, luxury houses, and entertainment venues. Protect your penguins from killer whales and thief seals by setting up defense towers. Ensure your penguins' happiness and education by providing them with recreational facilities such as ice rinks, cinemas, gyms, and museums.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features adorable graphics and cute penguins, making it visually appealing and enjoyable.
- It offers a relaxing gameplay experience with a good balance of city-building mechanics and light strategy elements.
- The game is accessible for newcomers to the city-building genre, providing a straightforward tutorial and user-friendly mechanics.
- The progression system can feel tedious and frustrating, as players may get stuck at certain levels without clear paths to advance.
- There are technical issues, including bugs and UI problems that can disrupt gameplay and immersion.
- The game lacks depth and variety, leading to repetitive gameplay and limited long-term engagement.
- gameplay27 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its cute and humorous elements, with solid mechanics that can become grindy in the late game due to slow exploration and limited building unlocks. While the addictive loop and town-building aspects are enjoyable, many players find the lack of a tutorial and depth in mechanics frustrating, leading to a sense of stagnation and confusion. Overall, the game offers a fun experience but suffers from pacing issues, poor UI, and a need for more engaging content and balance.
“It's cute and funny, and the mechanics for the most part are solid.”
“Addictive gameplay loop.”
“The thrill of repelling a killer whale attack or catching a seal stealing food keeps the gameplay dynamic and engaging.”
“Gets too grindy towards late game and progress is hindered by game mechanics; for example, exploration takes literally months in-game and many buildings can only be unlocked with exploration.”
“To start, the lack of a tutorial was very jarring for me. Yes, it's a simple game, but there were still a handful of things that would've been much easier if they were explained to me, and I fear there may still be some basic mechanics I don't understand or know about due to that.”
“All in all, my intrigue turned into frustration due to the absolutely sluggish gameplay, poor resource balancing, and lack of information communication.”
- story13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely criticized for being unengaging and lacking depth, with many players noting that quest progression feels repetitive and disconnected from meaningful narrative elements. While there are periodic missions that provide some guidance, the overall experience lacks a cohesive story arc, leading to a sense of monotony in gameplay. Players express a desire for more substantial storytelling and decision-making elements to enhance the game's longevity and memorability.
“I genuinely hope the developers keep adding to the game – story mode, meaningful decision making, and focused cities would go far in increasing longevity, turning this from an 'okay' game into a memorable experience.”
“The exploration system uses a one-of-a-kind building you can unlock and send a submarine on a voyage to other settlements in the kingdom, rewarding you with recipe unlocks and special quests to gather extra resources and potentially discover new penguins.”
“The missions are nice for guidance, but there's no story arc or overarching system.”
“Honestly very boring; the quest progression system advances far faster than the resources. The game needs some rethinking, in my opinion.”
“Not really a story, and progression is pretty much the same every playthrough.”
“The game does not give the reputation that the quests and killing whales say they do.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many users praising their cute and vibrant style, which enhances the relaxing atmosphere. However, some players express frustration with the limited graphics options and mandatory motion blur, which detracts from the overall experience. While the visuals may not be groundbreaking, they effectively support the game's charm and gameplay.
“The first thing that drew me in was the adorable graphics.”
“The graphics are great, the background sound is great, and you need to plan your city well otherwise you will run out of room.”
“The graphics are very refreshing and vibrant.”
“Graphics options suck and lie; no matter what you disable, there's mandatory motion blur which is even more disgusting than ever, and there's no support from the community.”
“Yes, the graphics are not spectacular (they are pretty average for an indie game), but the style more than carries its weight.”
“There aren’t flashy visuals indicating happiness is spreading throughout the city when needs are met; brain power isn’t required to create a functioning city, and there’s little to see or do after the opening hours.”
- music7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while some players find it relaxing and fitting for the cute graphics and gameplay, others criticize it for being limited and basic, with only a handful of tracks that can become repetitive. Despite the charm of the sound design, many users express a desire for more variety and depth in the music. Overall, the soundtrack contributes to the atmosphere but leaves room for improvement.
“The seal invasion music slaps... but we never get to hear it all, please devs put it on YouTube!”
“Cute graphics, relaxing music.”
“Relaxing music, cute penguins, icy architectures, and a little bit of tower defense against seals and killer whales, good enough for a game this size.”
“The music is terrible.”
“There are only a handful of music tracks, the enemy, unit, and building sounds are all limited, and the menu and UI sounds are basic.”
“Of these, the most egregious is the music; it really weighed on me how few tracks there are and how basic they all sound.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly in the endgame where progress is significantly slowed by game mechanics. Completionists face challenges as exploration and achievement hunting can take an excessive amount of time, leading to frustration and a loss of enjoyment. Overall, while the game starts off cute and fun, it quickly becomes a grind that detracts from the overall experience.
“The endgame feels tedious, especially for completionists.”
“It gets repetitive and tedious quickly.”
“Cute and fun for a while, but gets tedious very quickly. It's virtually impossible to get past city status; I briefly got into province status, but reputation points dipped back into city status. I just can't seem to get back, even after upgrading all that I could. I have 150,000 science points but can't use them now; it got boring quickly after that.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized as cute and funny, with solid mechanics that enhance the experience. Players particularly enjoy the hilarious penguin animations, adding to the overall comedic appeal.
“It's cute and funny, and the mechanics for the most part are solid.”
“+ Penguin animations are hilarious.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, users report a positive experience with stability, noting that they have not encountered any issues or glitches, which suggests a reliable performance.
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game successfully transforms the familiar elements of its predecessor into a fresh experience through its engaging music, unique setting, charming building designs, and an overall whimsical atmosphere, making it feel like a completely new title despite its similarities.
“Basically an oxygen clone with extensive alterations, but somehow you managed to use music, setting, building appearance, and adorable cuteness to create a completely new atmosphere. It feels like a brand new game!”
“The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, drawing you into a world that feels both familiar and unique. Every detail contributes to a sense of wonder and exploration.”
“From the haunting soundtrack to the beautifully crafted environments, the atmosphere envelops you, making every moment feel significant and engaging.”
“The atmosphere feels lifeless and uninspired, making it hard to immerse myself in the game world.”
“Despite the interesting premise, the overall ambiance is dull and fails to evoke any real emotion.”
“The game lacks a cohesive atmosphere, resulting in a disjointed experience that detracts from the gameplay.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users express frustration with the game's optimization, particularly regarding limited space and the inability to position buildings closely together, which hinders the creation of efficient pathways.
“I appreciate the attention to detail in optimization, as it allows for more efficient gameplay and resource management.”
“The optimization features really enhance the overall experience, making it easier to navigate and plan strategies.”
“I love how the game encourages players to think critically about space and resource allocation for optimal performance.”
“I was frustrated with how little space there is, and how you cannot place buildings close together to save space and create optimized paths.”
“The lack of optimization in the layout options makes it difficult to create efficient designs.”
“I found the optimization features lacking, which made it hard to streamline my gameplay experience.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users generally find the game's replayability to be high, citing various modes, branching storylines, and unlockable content that encourage multiple playthroughs. Many appreciate the ability to make different choices and explore alternative outcomes, enhancing the overall experience. However, some note that certain elements may feel repetitive after several runs.
“The game offers a multitude of choices that significantly alter the storyline, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging.”
“With various character builds and strategies to explore, I find myself coming back to this game time and again.”
“The dynamic world and random events ensure that no two playthroughs are ever the same, keeping the experience exciting.”
“The game lacks meaningful choices, making replayability feel pointless.”
“Once you've completed the story, there's little incentive to go back and play again.”
“The limited variety in gameplay mechanics means that replaying the game feels more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
