Penguin Colony Reviews
A little uneven, but Penguin Colony is too weird, wonderful, and surprising to miss.
This odd but absorbing adventure sends you waddling across Antarctica in search of an eldritch entity – uncovering a world far stranger than it first appears
Not your average Lovecraftian horror.
Penguin Colony is an inspired reimagining of Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness. Putting aside some awkwardness in presentation, Penguin Colony is a raw, assured rhetorical march through a wintry landscape toward a mountain dripping with horrors both unknown and painfully known.
Penguin Colony offers something novel, but at the same time lacks any real variety or replayability in the long run.
Penguin Colony struck us as a huge missed opportunity: although it features numerous extremely intriguing design choices, they fail to shine due to frustrating gameplay, lackluster level design, and a story that focuses too much on elements we’ve seen time and time again.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Penguin Colony is recommended to anyone who is willing to spend three hours on life-changing art and can deal with some “jank” in the platforming. Take in the sights of the Antarctic landscape, the terrifying eldritch horrors rising from the deep giving vile men their due justice, and best of all, the adorable baby penguins. I went into this game with a critical eye, and I fear that diminished my enjoyment of it. As long as you go into it understanding that you’re about to embark on a wild ride, then you can just dive in and enjoy that ride.
Penguin Colony tells a sharp, brilliant story about colonization, but slow controls, intrusive design choices, and ongoing technical problems keep dragging it down. If you can push through the jank, real brilliance is buried in the ice.
Penguin Colony is a fascinating work of art that offers a much-needed reappropriation of H.P. Lovecraft’s stories, transforming them into a significant anti-colonial and anti-fascist narrative. It is a pity that its brilliant storytelling risks being overshadowed by technical issues, problems with controls and movement, and confusing environments.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Penguin Colony is many things. Within its four-hour playtime, the amusing penguin gameplay might overstay its welcome. Nonetheless, the subject matter is one that rings true even to this day. In a world where it seems that people in power are walking on eggshells trying not to offend anybody, it seems like abusive tyrants took that advantage to take over the world. Using cosmic horror to portray these real-life horrors is a stroke of genius.
Overall, Penguin Colony is strong in its penguins and their abilities, atmospheric tone, and approach to discovery and storytelling. Some audience members may bounce off this title because of its approach to sharing adventures and understanding the game itself.