Blending the bubble puzzling joy of games like Bust-a-Move and Puzzle Bobble with a third-person co-op shooter to make a TRUE co-op experience, Popucom turned out to be an unexpected favorite of PAX West! Read our hands-on impressions below.
Hands-on with Popucom
Release Date: TBA
Developer: Hypergryph
Publisher: Gryphline
Platform(s): PC, PS5
Julie and I have bonded so much through playing co-op games together, and you could say we've become co-op sommeliers over the years. We are always hungry for those connective experiences, always ready to dive into a game that requires the power of friendship to overcome obstacles. But most of all, we love a co-op experience that truly feels like it can only be played with a pal — a game that needs genuine cooperation to get through.
Popucom, a co-op puzzle shooter from Gryphline (best known for the Arknights series), is one we got our hands on at PAX West this year, and it turned out to be exactly what we were looking for. Truth be told, Popucom's PAX demo took us by surprise and left one of the most lasting impressions, and now we can't wait to get our hands on the full game.
It's one of the most polished games we played at PAX West, and the dynamic quality of some of the blobby Pomu monsters genuinely awed us.
In Popucom, you and your co-op partner suit up to save a squadron of helper robots — called Goodiebots — from an onslaught of blobby, color-coded monsters known as Pomus. There's a surprising war motif for the bright, colorful, and cutesy affair, and the player characters initially dress up like a superhero police force, but the stylish presentation otherwise offers up a smiley and approachable experience. Its reliance on deep color theming and streetwear-like cool definitely call to mind Splatoon, but with the liquid-y paint of the former replaced by bubble brethren.
The comparison doesn't stop there. Similar to Nintendo's competitive shooter, Popucom presents as cheery and approachable but plays way harder and way more intense than you'd ever expect. The skill ceiling is high for this bubble puzzle match-3 shooter in a way I never expected, and I heard tons of people at demo stations around me sharing the same sentiment.
It's one of the most polished games we played at PAX West, and the dynamic quality of some of the blobby Pomu monsters genuinely awed us.
In our demo session, at Gryphline's massive PAX West booth, we got to play three unique levels. One introduced the concepts of match-3 bubble shooting in a basic training ground. One brought in complicated layers like shield walls and colored platforms. Then, we concluded with a boss level against a giant snake with a body made of colorful balls.
The core gameplay gimmick here is this: Each player gets two colors to cycle through on a gun that shoots out colorful blobs, using their unique colors to help complete puzzles and dispatch enemies. For example, as a team you might have to alternate shots to either build platforms or eliminate enemies that are the same color you shoot.
Some enemies had many colorful blobs across their body, which meant having to slowly match-3 as you chewed away at their bubble bodies in a weirdly savage and satisfying way. There's a fun chaos element to it, as both players are dodging and shooting not-so-pristine shots that may interrupt each other's match-3 attempts — in essence doing the opposite of what you want and making the monster a bigger threat that's slower to dispatch.
Levels are designed in such a way that you're almost always having to shoot your specific color set over to help your friend progress or defend them from harm. And it isn't as simple as always going for a match-3. Sometimes you've got to alternate between all four colors to build a tower tall enough to get both players up to a higher level, or shoot barriers that would knock you off a platform.
It's an intuitive system that feels built for a constant flow of "a-ha" moments between both players. We never felt truly lost about what to do next, even when we got color-themed lasers, shields, and platforms that only one player could mess with at a time.
In the second level, we had to really coordinate our moves, with colored lasers needing to be deflected by shields that each player could prop up, platforms that only one player could jump onto at a time, and more. It proved to be difficult to execute some of these moves, especially having to coordinate very specific timings with your partner in crime to keep both of you alive.
The skill ceiling is high for this bubble puzzle match-3 shooter in a way I never expected.
There was no better example of Popucom's mix of difficult execution and intuitive design than the final level we played, a boss fight with the Popuwurm, a giant snake-like beast whose entire body was made of a long line of colored blobs. Clearly, our goal was to slowly erase its body by making match-3 links — but having to keep up with its walls of colored blobs and block shots for your teammate makes that a trickier task than it might initially seem. Luckily, players can share health and revive each other if needed, so if one player needs an extra hand, there are some tools built in to make it easier or harder for either player. Good co-op moves, Popucom.
We knew the concept of a puzzle-platformer with Bust-a-Move-like bubble puzzles could be great, but we still came away delighted and so excited for this new franchise that genuinely took the best of both of us to triumph over in the end. If you're a fan of genuine co-op games, one of the world's long-lost Bust-a-Move fans, or just like to live in a cutesy and colorful world, keep an eye out for this sneaky hit.
Popucom was also high up on the most-played demos of Steam Next Fest in October, so clearly it's not just us itching for great multiplayer games.
While we played the game's two-player variant, Popucom has advertised the ability to play with up to four players in the full game, so we're fascinated to see how that works in the end.
Popucom will be launching on PS5 and PC sometime in the next year, and if you want to keep up with development, follow the team on social media and keep tabs on their site! There's a sneaky fun minigame on their site that I bet you can't beat me at. (My high score is 40,100.) As always, wishlist Popucom on Steam, as it's one of the best ways you can support a game before launch!
Want to see more like this? Check out all of our PAX West 2024 coverage.
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