I have a bit of a fixation on Bomberman. I mean, I grew up with the series, and for a time it was a Hudson Soft classic. Fast forward several decades, and now Bomberman is all but dead, at least to this fan. But that doesn’t mean others can’t pick up the torch (or bomb) and run with it. I saw one incredibly successful attempt in Bombslinger. Today I see another in the delightfully demented Ponpu.
The basic premise of Ponpu seems to be Bomberman with ducks. Below is a quick snippet of the game plot:
The all-seeing Duck God has had enough and the world has run out of time. Every 2 billion years the world must be refreshed through divine destruction and he has sent you, a Ponpu, as his herald. But, a nasty bump on the head during a crash landing took your memory and now you find yourself working against the Duck God in a carnage- fueled battle against other Ponpu to save the very world you were sent to destroy.
Across an expansive single-player campaign, your Ponpu will battle its way through 10 challenging worlds, while fighting off rival Ponpu and enormous, deadly and grotesque bosses. In the newly announced online multiplayer support, up to four Ponpu anywhere in the real-world can duke it out across three frenetic modes, including Coin Chase (get those coins before the competition!), Color Fight (your attack spread paint through the level, cover the most real estate with your color to win!), and good old- fashioned team deathmatch (kill, kill, kill!), with each win, kill and stat tracked via a handy new global ranking system.
Yes, that description made me instantly think of Bomb Chicken, another fantastic game. But Ponpu is very distinct from that title. For one, it features a really remarkably cool art style. It has the colors of Splatoon and the visual flair of games like RunGunJumpGun and Cat Lady. It’s really weird, and really visually appealing. Oh and did I mention it features multiplayer mayhem as well?
It’s being developed by Purple Tree Studio, who had only done one other console game before this and several mobile. But honestly that doesn’t phase me. Cause Ponpu looks utterly delightful. It’s also coming to all consoles and PC, so that’s something. If you’re a fan of Bomberman and need explosive new fun, stay tuned for more news of this promising game!
