Panda Punch
Ratalaika Games S.L
From Ratalaika Games and Ninja Rabbit comes Panda Punch. Playing as a Red Panda with a mechanical arm, you traverse multiple levels to save the world from evil aliens. Sadly after a while, you end up being okay with the aliens taking over the world.
When the game starts, your dad gives you a mechanical arm, and you must navigate 58 levels filled with traps, secrets, and enemies. The sad reality is that those levels evolve into unforgivable penalties forcing the player to restart to correct the mistake, as the checkpoint serves no purpose. If you mess up the order of operation on a puzzle, you are forced to replay the entire level as punishment.
As you progress through the game, the levels merge into one long endurance challenge. With the overall design being redundant, just having the willpower to continue is an accomplishment. Getting enough coins or tokens to upgrade your health and weapons is challenging.
The one central saving grace of Panda Punch is the cost. At the time of this review, the game was on sale for $3.99 before the Steam Winter Sale started. Having that being one of the few positives isn’t positive.
Tragically Panda Punch is not a fun game to play. It starts promising, but after the first level, you already know how to rest of the game plays out. The lack of variety is more suited for a mobile game where players only play in small increments, and it isn’t as glaring.