Poi Review

A couple of weeks ago I picked up the indie platformer Poi. This N64 inspired platformer was created by the studio PolyKid. So does Poi live up to the pedigree of N64 greats? Below is my Poi review.

WHAT IS POI?

Water

Conceptually Poi follows very closely to other platformers like Mario 64, Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo Kazooie. You start the game as a young explorer who is tasked with collecting Explorer Medals for an old explorer. In total there 101 medals to be collected (only 60 are required to beat the game) throughout the game.

Explorer Medals can be collected by completing various activities throughout Poi. Medals are scattered across four worlds varying from desert to arctic settings. These levels have unique requirements to earn medals (think Mario 64). One level might require you to complete an obstacle course while another requires you to find lost seeds. All the levels share some common requirements like boss battles and collecting 100 coins. The aim of the game is to collect 60 medals to unlock the final boss battle.

One of many collectibles

Helping you collect these medals are varying tools you unlock along your journey. There is a compass which shows locations, a shovel to dig up treasure, a larger wallet and a few other tools to assist in helping you complete your quests. These items help players collect the various collectibles scattered throughout Poi. From fossils to photographs to costumes to locations, there is a whole slew of collectibles for those so inclined.

What’s nice about Poi is that these collectibles are completely optional. If you simply want to focus on completing each level and moving further along in the game you can do that. There is no need to find every little thing in this game, but the option is there if you want to.

GRAPHICS + AUDIO

Like the art style.

At the start of the game I was immediately impressed by the game’s cartoony graphics. Poi is visually striking. Visually the game captures the nostalgia of the N64 era, but in a more polished and modern way. Characters look good and so do the different levels. The Sky, which acts as the world hub, gave me a very Skyward Sword vibe which I liked. Overall the Poi’s graphics are polished and good looking for an indie game.

One thing I will point out is that when I played the Poi there was a minor microstutter which was present throughout my entire playthrough. While minor, this performance hit was a tad bit frustrating given my more than adequate PC. The developers did acknowledge this and hopefully a patch comes to fix this issue soon. That aside the game ran well and the game was stable while I played through the story. While graphically I enjoyed the game, the audio didn’t quite reach the same heights.

It looks good, but the sound doesn’t quite match

The soundtrack for Poi is ok. There were not really any iconic tracks which stood out to me, unlike a Stardew Valley or Mario 64. That’s not to say the soundtrack is bad, just not really special. The same can be said of the game’s sound effects, nothing really stood out to me. This is definitely unfortunate as the game urges players to spend hours inside it, but you’ll probably find yourself looking elsewhere for background audio.

IS IT FUN?

I found Poi to be a charming little indie game which ended up consuming enough of my time to 100% it. To accomplish this required about 18 hours of investment which is not bad considering Poi’s $16.99 CAD price tag. It also helps that there is a NG+ mode which mirrors all levels and restricts you to a single heart to add to the replayability.

There is enough variety in Poi’s various minigames and quests to keep me playing which is a major plus. Often platformers get bogged down by repetition, but Poi is short enough to avoid this problem. This is especially high praise coming from me as I typically don’t have the patience for platformers.

This game is gold

Poi is a nice indie game which calls back to platformers of the 90’s. Graphically the game is visually striking, but I found the audio to be lacking. There is a nice collection of things to do and enough collectibles to keep you playing for hours. There is also a nice little leaderboard system for those who like speedrunning.

With that being said this game is pretty particular in who it is targeting. Did you grow up on N64 games? Do less modern game mechanics frustrate you? Answers to these questions will determine your Poi experience.

8/10

What did you think of this Poi review? Agree? Disagree? Only play Yandere Simulator? Let me know in the Pit below!