Introduction
Today we are going to look at a game named Poi, you probably have never heard of it! If you have, then you will like that I’ll review it. Poi is what you get if an Indie developer makes a Super Mario 64 clone. Does this come with the bad camera? Are there other pitfalls? Let’s dig into this review!
What did I think before playing Poi?
I am not sure where I got Poi, I think I bought a bundle a few years ago and Poi looked fun. This was before I started the site and writing reviews. It has been sitting in my Steam library all this time, and finally, I am getting to play this game. There are quite some mixed reviews and I barely remember why I liked it, it is time to check the Steam page.
The Steam Page
https://store.steampowered.com/app/401810/Poi/
It becomes clear in a matter of seconds this will be a collecting game where you will need to find the macguffins to finish the game. These are mostly in the form of explorer medals, but there are other items to collect and a whole book to keep track of your progress. I also think there are two characters to choose from and minigames to play.
Rating
I rated Poi with a 7.1 before playing.
All in all, it seems like a decent Super Mario 64 clone, I do hope the camera works better.
Story
The story is about two orphans that run away from their home. Because everyone knows that is the most reasonable thing to do, they meet an old man and fly away in a spaceship, I think the whale steers it.
Rating
I rate the story of Poi with a 6.0
While nothing special, it does set the game up for a grand chase of medallions!
Gameplay
The game starts with a tour in the forest, where you will need to learn some basic jumping skills. If you have played Super Mario 64, or any Super Mario game, you will notice the jumps are almost the same. You do notice there is a slight delay in jumping, the wall-kicks are in this game as well and can be abused.
It does not take long before you are whisked to the airship that is flown by the a giant whale, I am not sure how they captured it. Then you will learn about the explorer tools that you need to buy with the coins that are strewn over each level. And since you need to visit each level a few times, you will rack up coins quickly. Gems are worth more coins.
As you get new tools, you will also unlock the shovel and the compass. These have to be dug up, the fossils that you have to collect. There are other items, but most of them can be picked up. If you collect all fossils in one of the worlds, you will get a new medallion.
Now, to one of the big flaws of this game, the hitbox is completely fucked up. As in, you will be jumping on top of an enemy and while it is stunned, it will still hit you. Then you will lose some coins and after three hits you have to restart the whole level.
The levels seem like a mixed up mess without thought on how they connect. This makes traversing them rough.
Rating
I rated the gameplay of Poi with a 6.9
While I do like the gameplay, the hitbox problem is too big and creates a lot of frustration.
Sound and Graphics
Graphics
The graphics are quite fun and whimsical, I love that you can explore the sky as well and that as you progress through the story, more people will come close to your airship. Sadly, most of the levels are rough around the edges and could use some polish.
Sound
The soundtracks almost did not seem to exist. I barely remember what it sounded like. The character makes a lot of noise while jumping. The enemies do make some sounds, but it is quite forgettable.
Rating
I rated the sound and graphics of Poi with a 5.5
This could have been much better!
What did I think after playing Poi?
I did enjoy playing this game, it was a fun experience. It makes me wonder, what if a really good Indie developing team makes a Super Mario 64 clone? This is not something that happens a lot. If the enemy hitbox was not this bad, I would have completed this game for 100%. Sadly, as it is now, this game is quite frustrating.
Despite the game having disconnected levels, there are different biomes to explore, like the forest, a volcano, and a lot more. If you do enjoy collecting games, then this might just be for you. Now about the difficulty, despite the strange hitboxes, this game is very casual and on the easy side. If you are new to 3D platforming, this is a good game for you!
Rating
I rated Poi with a 6.5 after playing.
You need to have patience with enemy hitboxes to enjoy this game! It is a fun game, despite the problems.
What are my personal thoughts about Poi?
I did enjoy playing this game, it reminded me a lot of Super Mario. I have not finished everything yet, and I might even continue to play and collect some medallions!
Rating
My personal Rating of Poi is a 7.0
I like the way that girl jumps! She jumps just like Super Mario!
Last Words
Pros
- A fun casual 3D platformer
- There are many different areas to explore
- A lot of items to collect
- You can buy tools to make your exploring life easier
- There are quite some annoying enemies to destroy
Cons
- The hitboxes are very annoying and do not work properly
- A blatant copy of Super Mario 64
- The levels are not interconnected and rough
While this game is not the perfect 3D platformer, it is quite fun if you ask me, despite the problems. If you can get over the slight issues this game has, you might find yourself enjoying it!
The Final Rating
6.4
Please let me know what you think of Poi in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
If you liked reading this review, maybe you would like to share this review with your friends.
It looks reasonably good, I do enjoy retro platform games in both 2D and 3D but I think this one would have passed me by completely to be fair if you hadn’t brought my attention to it.
I have a feeling the game name has a not so well hidden meaning (Points Of Interest) since you are hunting objects and travelling in a ship to reach different parts of it.
If you haven’t already played it I recommend checking out KAO The Kangaroo as well. It’s a little more polished than Poi, it borrows from several popular console games so is more of an homage to the genre than anything specific. There’s elements of challenge completion, coin collection, combat and puzzle solving
Kao the Kangaroo is on my list, just, down the long list. Poi is indeed fun, however not very polished. Despite that, you can still enjoy this game.
mario like game, its mid 5/10
looks good, but it seems it is not so good
It depends on how much you like platformers.
looks like average game at most.
nice
Playing this game would be fun!
It would!
The game looks pretty good. It reminds me of old school platformers. Maybe some camera problems.
It took almost 25 years to rip off Super Mario 64 in its entirely 🙂 Thing is I wonder what took so long, anyway this one looks rather fun.
Hahaha, good one!
This would be a perfect game for kids: Simple, engaging, fun and keeps them busy while their parents / baby sitter play their own games.
The music and sound effects stand out as really good actually.
It was more fun than I had expected when I started out!
Lackluster execution for a copy game.
You only notice hitboxes if they are somehow not working properly
That statement is completely true!
Lol, yeah, and then it leaves you with lots of bad memories (and frustrations).
Looks like a pretty decent game otherwise. Reminds me of Croc a bit. 😀
It’s a me, Maria!