Pony Island

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 260 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 161 out of 260
  2. Mixed: 62 out of 260
  3. Negative: 37 out of 260

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  1. Jovuto
    Feb 27, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gameplay - 8/10

    I find it really interesting how Pony Island somehow turns navigating a fictional OS into a game and how it can take many different variations on the same concept to keep things refreshing. Also the meta moments towards the end of the game genuinely tricked me and is miles smarter than any of the meta tricks you'll see in any other game (Undertale comes to mind even though that game is great). However, some repeating ideas can become stale but don't necessarily overstay their welcome as this is a relatively short game.

    Controls - 10/10

    Literally nothing to complain about.

    Aesthetic - 6/10

    I get that this is meant to have a lo-fi look to it but I feel like at least some more effort could be put into the look of the game, especially the world outside of Pony Island... it looks very "Unity"ish.

    Sound and Music - 4/10

    This game has some pretty decent music but, because all music and sound effects were made by outside sources, it can sound very "stock" at a lot of moments.

    User Experience/Tutorials - 9/10

    Practically no tutorials are needed and Pony Island knows this. I mean... do you really need a tutorial for navigating menus? Also, despite how messy the look of the game is (not a criticism), the game manages to be really clear with how things work. There were a few times where I got stuck but apart from that this game has great UX.

    Story - 6/10

    This game leaves so much to the imagination and I mean that in a good way. I feel like there's going to be a bunch of fan theories on what actually happens at the end. A few complaints that I have is that the game feels too desperate to be "copypasta"-like and it can be jarring at times and also it leaves too much to the imagination at the end. The ending just kind of feels like a lazy cop-out (but no where near as bad as The Witness's ending).

    Price - 8/10

    I feel like £4 is a pretty good price tag although I would prefer it if it was just a little but cheaper, along the lines of £3 would be nice. I completed the game in about 2 and a half hours and it has replayability but I just didn't feel like returning to this game.

    Conclusion -

    Pony Island is a solid game with a unique experience. It however lacks polish and a fully realized story. If you want to play something interesting and you have a little bit of money to waste, I'd say go ahead and buy Pony Island... it's great.

    Overall - 7/10    … Expand
  2. Zimbardo
    Jan 11, 2016
    6
    In Pony Island you're trying to escape from an evil videogame by completing puzzles (really just variations of one puzzle). Although the game had the premise and potential to go off the rails and be awesome... it kinda just points to the 4th wall and pokes it... and keeps poking it in case you didn't get it the first time. In fact if you've seen the trailer on its Steam page then you'veIn Pony Island you're trying to escape from an evil videogame by completing puzzles (really just variations of one puzzle). Although the game had the premise and potential to go off the rails and be awesome... it kinda just points to the 4th wall and pokes it... and keeps poking it in case you didn't get it the first time. In fact if you've seen the trailer on its Steam page then you've pretty much experienced 80% of this game.

    At the time of my review this game is getting critical praise and I have no idea why. The idea of playing with the 4th wall has been done before in gaming, and one of the most interesting things that occurs in the game hearkens back to 1998's Metal Gear Solid (see Psycho Mantis). I guess videogame critics love games that they can complete and review in a 2 hour period while pretending that they've engaged in something "intelligent". In fact look at me I'm writing a critique of the critics (that's "unexpected!") and by acknowledging this I've broken the 4th wall (how "intelligent"!).

    I'm giving it a 6 because it isn't bad... but don't believe the hype.    … Expand
  3. kettle
    Jan 18, 2016
    5
    this game isn't that great, it's fun at parts first time through but it doesn't leave much of a lasting impression and the pony levels are really, really boring. although the fourth wall breaking aspects of it are very unique especially with asmodeus.exe which was by far the best aspect of the game and really shocked me, the pony levels and the first two thirds of act 3 leave a lot to bethis game isn't that great, it's fun at parts first time through but it doesn't leave much of a lasting impression and the pony levels are really, really boring. although the fourth wall breaking aspects of it are very unique especially with asmodeus.exe which was by far the best aspect of the game and really shocked me, the pony levels and the first two thirds of act 3 leave a lot to be desired. The two final bosses also are not anything special. take it or leave it as you will… Expand
  4. Noole
    Jan 15, 2016
    5
    Incredibly simple gameplay and visuals, it's something you'd expect from a browser game from 00's. The high scores it's getting is because it's "breaking the 4th wall". Thing is, you need to establish the 4th wall before breaking it, and Pony Island breaks it withing 5 minutes and then keeps repeating the same tricks until the end. Gets really boring and predictable very fast. NothingIncredibly simple gameplay and visuals, it's something you'd expect from a browser game from 00's. The high scores it's getting is because it's "breaking the 4th wall". Thing is, you need to establish the 4th wall before breaking it, and Pony Island breaks it withing 5 minutes and then keeps repeating the same tricks until the end. Gets really boring and predictable very fast. Nothing smart about shouting "Look at me, I'm a game and I'm aware of it". Comparing it to Undertale and The Stanley Parable is a joke, those games are in a different league.… Expand
  5. kezzyhko
    Aug 5, 2020
    7
    ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍
  6. TitaniumDragon
    Nov 1, 2016
    5
    Pony Island is one of those very meta games. You appear to be playing a game on an old arcade machine, but as the game progresses, it quickly becomes clear that the arcade may not be what it seems, and the game itself is not what it seems. Satan seems to want your soul, and you, quite obviously, aren’t going to give it to him.

    Played via a virtual CRT monitor, the game quickly breaks    Pony Island is one of those very meta games. You appear to be playing a game on an old arcade machine, but as the game progresses, it quickly becomes clear that the arcade may not be what it seems, and the game itself is not what it seems. Satan seems to want your soul, and you, quite obviously, aren’t going to give it to him.

    Played via a virtual CRT monitor, the game quickly breaks down. The core game of Pony Island, where you play a pony jumping over a series of barriers, is broken up with puzzles involving redirecting keys to hack the game, as well as desktop sections where you communicate with another person trapped in the game, as well as constant mockery from Lucifer himself, who tries to convince you to give him your soul to unlock (intentionally terrible) gameplay, and who complains as you keep breaking his games (he worked so hard on them!).

    Over the course of the game, you confront three demons in three different battles of wits and solve a number of fairly simple puzzles, all while the game holds up a very thin sheen of not being some sort of demonic thing that might cost you your soul.

    Unfortunately, while the game itself is a neat concept, all in all it isn’t terribly fun to *play*. The actual gameplay is intentionally simple and samey, and unfortunately, hanging a lampshade on that fact doesn’t make it any more fun. The puzzles are okay but generally nothing to write home about, and while the sheer variability of the thing is interesting at times, at other times you are spending very long stretches doing the same thing over and over again, which just isn’t very much fun.

    The core game of Pony Island is deliberately bad and unfortunately, deliberately bad is still bad.

    All in all, I can’t really recommend this. It is a neat idea, but it just doesn’t really end up feeling like it has enough payoff to be worthwhile. It lacks the feeling of profundity you got from games like The Talos Principle; instead, it is just very simplistic and while it presents itself as what it is, ultimately what it is is nothing all that special. After you understand what it is, there’s little left for you here, and while it is only about two and a half hours long (maybe less), it still wore thin by the end. The moments of cleverness simply aren’t worth the time investment.    … Expand
  7. skrik
    Jul 3, 2016
    6
    A very cool concept not that well executed and boring at times (the pony parts & puzzles unfortunately get old). However the third core boss battle was pure genius! Tricked me several times!

    (very slight spoiler on character names ahead) I think if the whole game had been running around that concept ( if satan rather than asmodeus was the one doing these kind of tricks through the game)    A very cool concept not that well executed and boring at times (the pony parts & puzzles unfortunately get old). However the third core boss battle was pure genius! Tricked me several times!

    (very slight spoiler on character names ahead) I think if the whole game had been running around that concept ( if satan rather than asmodeus was the one doing these kind of tricks through the game) it would have been much stronger and immersive.

    Pretty cool chiptune soundtrack too.    … Expand
  8. Klewer
    Aug 12, 2017
    7
    Definitely worth a look. Interesting concept of playing a game in a game which is corrupted. It's not a overly long game, maybe 2-3 hours out of it. At the right place it is worth a look as it's a quite different to the norm.
  9. TenchuuKhan
    Sep 24, 2016
    7
    Narrative awesome, gameplay.... nyah.

    You are trapped in a video game that you need to escape out of. The storytelling here is really fun and awkward. Gameplay dumbs down to clicking around menus to find a backdoor, then you hack it. That however is pretty much only 3 things: 1 - sidescroll a unicorn firing lasers evading obstacles and fighting some enemies. (The sort of sidescroller    Narrative awesome, gameplay.... nyah.

    You are trapped in a video game that you need to escape out of. The storytelling here is really fun and awkward.
    Gameplay dumbs down to clicking around menus to find a backdoor, then you hack it.
    That however is pretty much only 3 things:
    1 - sidescroll a unicorn firing lasers evading obstacles and fighting some enemies. (The sort of sidescroller that automoves)
    2 - you need to get a key into a hole. For this you have several columns and redirect functions to get the key in there
    3 - variant of 2 just that ponies fall down

    Game time: 3-4 hours    … Expand
  10. Datamari
    Feb 3, 2016
    7
    PONIES!
    Pony Island is one of the most clever indie games i've played in a long time, however runs thin after awhile. It starts out as an innocent endless runner, but later on, it becomes dark. You're trying to fight against the video game by completing different variations of one puzzle, and it tries to break the 4th wall... a bit too hard. 4th wall breaking in games has already been    PONIES!
    Pony Island is one of the most clever indie games i've played in a long time, however runs thin after awhile. It starts out as an innocent endless runner, but later on, it becomes dark. You're trying to fight against the video game by completing different variations of one puzzle, and it tries to break the 4th wall... a bit too hard. 4th wall breaking in games has already been done, so this game really isn't anything new. The game had a lot of potential to be balls-to-the-wall insane with it's 4th wall, but it just pokes it. It's not a bad game, but it really should've been something more.

    Pony Island gets a 7/10.    … Expand
  11. auditbadger
    Jul 30, 2017
    7
    I think that this is truly a unique game and I would recommend that if you are a fan of this type of genre then I think you should give this game a try.
  12. Grahl1
    Oct 5, 2019
    6
    An enjoyable 2 hour experience.
    A lot of love went into this game. It definitely had the potential to fullfil its main ambition (to break the 4th wall) but it doesn't do it.
    Worth buying, but it's not a 10.

    6.5/10
  13. tom_harding
    Dec 28, 2020
    7
    A very short and very sweet metagame. I can't actually say anymore without spoiling it so just go and play... You won't regret it. Afterwards go and learn your fractions with Frog Fractions.
  14. Wrathzo
    Mar 22, 2022
    5
    Pony Island is a video game developed and published by Canadian indie developer Daniel Mullins. As a metafictional game, the game has the player interact with what appears to be an old arcade cabinet game called "Pony Island". The player soon discovers the game is corrupted by Lucifer himself, who is trying to claim the player's soul for itself. The player is aided by the soul of aPony Island is a video game developed and published by Canadian indie developer Daniel Mullins. As a metafictional game, the game has the player interact with what appears to be an old arcade cabinet game called "Pony Island". The player soon discovers the game is corrupted by Lucifer himself, who is trying to claim the player's soul for itself. The player is aided by the soul of a previous player who helps the player access Pony Island's internal programming to get around the traps left by Lucifer and save not only their soul, but the many tormented souls that are trapped within the game's code.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

23
#23 Best PC Game of 2016
71
#71 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
100
#100 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. games(TM)
    Apr 14, 2016
    70
    Clever, unique, inventive but brief and repetitive. [Issue#172, p.91]
    Read full review
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Apr 12, 2016
    84
    Wretched Devil itself has slithered inside an arcade machine and tenderly shackles the player inside it. Metafictional loop of satanistic ponies wittily dance through an evening it lasts. [Apr 2016]
  3. CD-Action
    Mar 30, 2016
    80
    A curious experiment that is really worth taking part in. [03/2016, p.69]
See all critic reviews »