Pankapu (2016)

Developer: Too Kind Studio
Publisher: Plug In Digital
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genres: Platform, Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Indie
Rating: 3.5 of 5, 5 player ratings
Where to get it: Nintendo eShop

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A brightly coloured fable that contrasts playful platforming with a quietly tragic story about a traumatized child.

actionplatformingnarrativerpg elementswhimsicaltragic undertonesepisodicbright fantasy

About

Pankapu is a 2D platform/action game, narrative and episodic: In a world full of Dreams and Nightmares, a tiny warrior has to fight for the safety of his homeland. However, the real purpose of his his quest, beyond the struggle of good and evil, is the mental health of a traumatized child. Told in the manner of a fable read to a child, the game has two levels of reading: the story of Pankapu, epic and naive, and the second one, about Djaha’rell life, the one to whom the tale is told, dark and tragic.

Screenshots

More games like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.