Papo & Yo

This is a 3d platformer with a focus on puzzles and it portrays a tale of child abuse through a strong symbolic depiction. Now the puzzles are mostly easy for the big part, and they dont really provide a sense of satisfaction when they are beat.

Visually the game is pretty, in particular the level design on the late level with all the surreal stuff is great (reminds me a lot of Dmc, no wonder since they use the same engine).

The focus of the game though is the story, and it doesnt really manage to ressonate with me as much as i would like. It is clear that this is a very personal story for the director of the game, but since its hard to empathize with the monster and since it cant kill you, i dont really have any sort of attachment to that character. The thing that tends to traumatize the most for children which suffer from abuse tends to be the loss of trust from a person who they love, even more than the physical abuse itself. The game doesnt translate this very well, since i get no sort of relation with the monster, except that he is the solution to most puzzles in the game.

Overal a nice little game, unique in its own right. Definitly an area which should be more explored in games storywise, as long as it is done in a mature way.