Armikrog Reviews
Many of the puzzles, for instance, are poorly conceived or utterly obtuse, and there's an awful lack of direction that frequently puts a halt to your progression
The audio in the game is excellent… the original soundtrack is perfectly orchestrated, with tracks that change depending on the environment and the current on-screen action
Cut-scenes, visuals and music aside, there's really not much game here, what with the somewhat average puzzle design and lacking rewards to keep on going. I'm happy that Tennapel and the team at Pencil Test were able to get back into the whole clay-mation business, but I can't help but think more could've been done with this.
Ultimately, Armikrog is a failure, but it's not a failure that is supposed to be hated with a fiery passion or forgotten about. If Pencil Test Studios learn their lesson, it can be a launching point for a better game that fully realizes their potential. For the player though, the best choice would be to stick with good, old Neverhood.
Armikrog is a very short game, its price reflecting its brevity. However, the repeated puzzles are a regrettable misstep, and the spartan sound design woefully undercuts the impressive claymation visuals. The most impactful visuals are frontloaded, leaving no sense of narrative crescendo. Sadly, the game feels like it loses steam much too quickly.
So much of Armikrog feels neglectful and lazy, lacking anything to make it stand out. Even the claymation look of it doesn't save it from the carelessness put into it. It's hard to see where that million dollars went. All of that said, it isn't terrible, but if you've never had the pleasure of playing The Neverhood, do yourself a favor and pick that up instead.
Wait and hope for some major patches for now, but even then Armikrog still won't feel actually finished. Shame.
Armikrog is a beautiful and challenging adventure that suffers from game breaking glitches. Fans of the genre and The Neverhood may tough it out, but most will be turned away until these bugs are fixed.
A space explorer and his alien dog wade through a mysterious planet with a dark secret.
Armikrog is a missed opportunity, but despite its design flaws and technical issues, it's worth playing even if just for the unique visual experience.
Armikrog is a point & click game that features remarkable stop motion animation in a world made of clay and with a consistent level design. Despite these points in its favour, Armikrog could make a more extensive use of its characters and rely less on memorizing its puzzles by heart, something which the players will find themselves doing too often thanks to the lack of leads or hints in the game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Armikrog is a game that has had obvious care and exacting attention given to its visual design and animation… at the expense of almost everything else. A bland and woefully short game with asinine puzzles and an unresponsive interface, it's beautiful but that's about it.
Armikrog brings back many old problems and mixes them with new ones as well, occasionally distracting from what is otherwise a funny and beautiful game.
The puzzles often require the player to merely regurgitate a pattern from one part of the world to another.
Playing Armikrog on PS4 was a very interesting experience. Its graphics, story, and puzzles were all very memorable, but playing on PS4 was not the best way to experience this game. Some of the graphics looked low-res at points, and most of the gameplay just does not work well on their controller, making Armikrog a more frustrating experience than it should have been. Fans of this genre should definitely play it, as it is a new and unique entry in a malnourished genre. However, if you choose to do so on the PS4, you should be aware of the poorly executed controls before going in.
Armikrog feels like a game for a different era, for good and ill. While point-and-click adventures can play to the nostalgia of some, they can feel mired in traditions that just don't translate to a more mainstream audience. If the former sounds like something you'd be into Armikrog will probably push your buttons. If the latter sounds like something you fear, Armikrog's lack of clear goals and an expectation of excessive patience means it's probably not for you.
I was charmed from the start, and that never really changed as Armikrog has heart in its oddness, just the rest seems a bit squandered in its full potential. When I'd rather watch the game more than feel compelled to play it that poses a bit of a problem.
A great if flawed game that presents a lot of potential that might have been wasted in this first iteration of a fantastic idea. If this is the direction Pencil Test Studios is going, then I want to see more. It's fun, though short, and a bit buggy. But overall it's a great idea to pursue.
Armikrog is a fun and quirky point-and-click adventure game with unfortunately dated mechanics.
Doug, I love your work as a whole, but Armikrog feels like an unpolished mess. If the entire game had received the effort that was put towards the visuals, this would have easily been the spiritual successor to games that I have very fond memories of. This clay could have used some more time in the kiln, that's for sure.