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Play as a pigeon doctor in this cozy slice-of-life game - Fall of Porcupine Quick Review

6K View2023-06-15

Fall of Porcupine

7.8

HealingAdventureStory Rich

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PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?

Play it, especially if you’re in the mood to get lost in a great story. I’d describe Fall of Porcupine as a cozy game, but there’s an underlying darkness to its narrative that gives its events a real sense of weight. You play as Finley, a small-town doctor who’s returning to work after an on-the-job injury. Finley clearly loves the town of Porcupine and its residents, but he has some concerns about St. Ursula’s, the hospital he works at. There’s a free demo that serves as a prologue to the main story, and I’d definitely recommend checking it out if you’re interested in the game.

TIME PLAYED

I played just over seven hours of Fall of Porcupine, which was enough time to get through autumn and into winter. It seems like the story still has a lot of juice, and I’ve only unlocked thirty-six percent of the in-game achievements, so I suspect the ending is still a ways away. There were a few points where events were shaped by my choices, and I’m curious to see how certain things would have played out if I’d acted differently. I’m looking forward to finishing the story, and I can definitely see myself playing through the game again in the future.

WHAT’S AWESOME

• Vibrant visuals. Fall of Porcupine looks absolutely stunning, especially when you see it in motion. The character animations are extremely smooth, and whether I was walking to work or exploring the forest with friends, I was always surrounded by breathtaking scenery. While the standard graphics look gorgeous, there were a few segments that had a completely different artstyle. One of my patients at the hospital liked to tell me stories, and these tales were rendered as animated chalk drawings. It’s a joy to look at the illustrated world of Fall of Porcupine, and the visuals are even better when they’re paired with the game’s beautiful soundtrack.

• Involving story. Fall of Porcupine has lots of cute dialogue and lighthearted moments, but there were times when its narrative moved me to tears. The game tells a complex story that’s both heartwarming and heart-wrenching. I felt deeply invested in the outcome of every patient I treated, even the ones that were only in the hospital for a day or two. All of the characters are animals, but somehow, Porcupine still managed to feel like a real place with a rich history. I was completely immersed by the main plot, but I also loved the background details that helped flesh out the town’s history. I’d love to play another game in the same universe and see what Porcupine was like in the distant past.

• Lively characters. Porcupine is a great setting, but it’s the town’s residents that really bring the place to life. Lots of stories take the time to flesh out the main cast, but Fall of Porcupine treats all of its characters with care, even the random folks I met when I passed them by on the street. The dialogue is excellent, and every animal I talked to had a distinct voice. While I learned a lot about characters through conversation, I also found background details about many characters on Finley’s phone. It felt like every character had a life and relationships outside the main story. I definitely had some favorites, like the dumpster-diving nurse Karl, but I felt attached to almost everyone I met.

• Varied gameplay. The standard gameplay loop in Fall of Porcupine is a simple one: Go to work at the hospital, treat patients by playing minigames, and hang out with friends or head home at the end of my shift. However, the game constantly found ways to mix things up and keep me on my toes. I had a few chances to play through surreal dream sequences that let me do things like climb giant plants and swim through a massive ocean. When I was awake, I had the chance to shoot hoops with my pals, show off my dancing skills, and even play the detective in a fictional murder mystery. At one point, the game briefly turned into a turn-based routine. I never knew what to expect when I started a new day, and that made the game feel all the more engaging.

WHAT SUCKS

• Limited chances to save. Fall of Porcupine automatically saves your progress at certain points, but there’s no way to manually save your game or check when the last save was. The game always saves at the end of an in-game day, so I usually wound up playing through a full day just to be safe. Since there are no time limits or threats to deal with, I was able to just leave the game running when I needed to take a break, but the game would really benefit from a built-in save function. There’s no warning that pops up when you exit the game without saving, and I suspect some players will wind up accidentally losing progress.

• Awkward gameplay segments. The basic gameplay in Fall of Porcupine is fine, but there are a few sections of the game with clunky controls. Most notably, there’s a scene that has some light platforming segments. Movement in the game isn’t very precise, and I would occasionally miss a jump, which required me to start over. I played on a keyboard, and I suspect that controls are a little smoother with a controller, but it was still a frustrating mechanic that distracted from an otherwise fantastic scene.

💬 Do you want to work at a hospital in the sleepy town of Porcupine, or would you prefer to stay out of the health care industry? Let us know in the comments!