- Publisher: Studio Cima
- Release Date: Jan 29, 2026
- Also On: PC
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Apr 2, 2026Undoubtedly a strange action adventure that does its own thing, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a home run either.
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Feb 4, 2026Despite being another in an ever increasing genre stable, The Perfect Pencil brings a uniquely twisted world to the genre. Its mysteries can be a bit dense, but the eerie atmosphere, complex themes, and strange landscapes make it worth exploring.
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May 14, 2026A surreal, engaging story, but there's too much dialogue and NPCs — unusual for a metroidvania. Combat is clunky, scanning is a waste of time, but the hand-drawn world is captivating, and the orbs that reveal the map encourage exploration.
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Mar 18, 2026The Perfect Pencil mixes a really cool hand-drawn style with a dark, symbolic story about inner struggles. The gameplay follows a familiar Metroidvania formula, but creative enemy designs and the analysis mechanic keep it engaging. Frustrating save points hold it back a bit, but it’s still a solid and slightly unsettling experience.
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Feb 4, 2026The Perfect Pencil is a metroidvania wrapped in a rather unusual outfit. If the game's mechanics are fairly standard insofar as we will do what most games of the kind expect from us, the plot and theme set it apart. By integrating the experience within a world that deals with issues of mental and emotional health and where every interaction and development derives from that theme, The Perfect Pencil manages to create a captivating space of its own, even if at some moments the game has a tendency to become rather repetitive.