Potata | PC Review
Ever feel singled out? Like you’re missing something everyone else has? Then, like many of us, you may relate to Potata, the only young girl in a village of witches who can’t perform magic. Even without magic, she finds herself getting into mischief in Potata, a 2D platformer developed by Anna Lepeshkina. Help Potata out of trouble as you explore her village and jump and slash through the forest around it.
Trouble brewing
Potata wakes up one morning to find her pet fox is sick. Her mom can brew a potion to help, but she needs Potata to collect the ingredients. While heading out to find them, a portal appears in Potata’s village, and her curiosity causes her to go through and see where it leads. It leads her to a fairy that guides her to a flower she hasn’t seen before. She tries to touch it, but the petals all fly off and scatter. Suddenly, what was once a peaceful and happy forest, is now full of spiked seeds, unknown enemies, and obstacles. The strange fairy tells Potata she must collect the petals and give them to her to restore the forest, and all she gives you to help is a tiny wooden sword.
Along the way you’ll need help from other villagers, including the smartest young witch in the village Luna, to get around the village and forest. While Luna does help you, she also reminds you that you cannot use magic. Regularly. You will also need to solve puzzles to open new areas of your village and the forest. The puzzles present a nice challenge and break from jumping around and navigating enemies. There were a couple that seemed overly difficult compared to the others, but they are all passable with some effort. Not only are you trying to save the forest, you also get to learn about Potata as she learns about herself and her love for exploring. The story is fun, but the real enjoyment in the game comes from the gameplay itself.
Jump! Jump!
The entire game is side scrolling and can be played with a keyboard or a controller. The keyboards default settings use the arrows to move, and Q, W, E and space bar to control Potata’s actions. I found these controls difficult to use, struggling with the timing of jumping with the space bar and using the arrows to move. Timing your jumps is important in this game, so I ended up dying a lot trying to use this scheme. If you’re used to a keyboard, you can customize the controls to a WASD setup, which some might find easier to use.
Personally, the game got a lot more fun when I plugged in my controller. It made moving around the level and timing the jumps easier and more intuitive. The analog sticks made controlling Potata much easier than the arrow keys. I would highly recommend playing with a controller to enhance your experience.
The game is set in Potata’s village and the forest around it, which makes for a pleasing and colorful background. The colors are bright and positive and help bring the forest alive. From the trees to the animals and plants in the background, it all ties together to create a fantasy world filled with fairies and magic. The fairies even control some of the platforms going up and down, showing the thoughtful detail put into the artwork. It is a little cartoon-like, but that fits the fantasy feel of the game perfectly. The instrumental Celtic music suits the environment and contributes further to the fantasy feel. It is soothing yet upbeat enough to keep you jumping through the game.
Potata Final Verdict
Overall, Potata provides a fun and challenging 2D experience. Anna Lepeshkina was successful in putting together a charming little tale of a young girl trying to figure out who she is. It presents enough of a challenge as a platformer to make it exciting without pushing you away when played with a controller. If you’re looking to spend about 15-20 hours enjoying a tale, Potata can provide that at a very affordable price point.
This review is based on a PC (Steam) copy of Potata provided by Anna Lepeshkina for coverage purposes.
Potata
$8.99
Pros
- Pleasing Background and Music
- Good Gameplay with Controller
- Fun Tale
Cons
- Couple Overly Difficult Puzzles
- Keyboard is Hard to Use
