Game: Fall of Porcupine
Genre: Adventure, Indie
System: Steam (Windows) and also on Nintendo Switch
Developers | Publishers: Critical Rabbit | Assemble Entertainment
Controller Support: Yes
Price: US $19.99 | UK £ 17.99 | EU € 19,99
Release Date: June 15th, 2023
Review code used with many thanks to Press Engine.
Fall of Porcupine is a 2023 indie adventure game developed by Critical Rabbit and released by Assemble Entertainment.
Plot
In Fall of Porcupine, we play Finley, a young doctor who has just started working at St. Ursula’s Hospital in Porcupine. He had a little accident with one of the patients, and after a brief respite, he is back at the hospital. Our job is to help him make it through a week of shifts while treating patients, keeping his supervisors and colleagues happy, and meeting the citizens of Porcupine. There is also a hint of mystery – what exactly happened to Finley, and why is the hospital’s Ward 1 closed?
Gameplay
We direct Finley, using the WASD buttons for moving, space for jumping, and the “E” button for interaction. The game also includes mini-games, where the controls are different depending on the game, for example when prescribing medicine, you need to rotate colour circles, and so on. For the mini-games, sometimes it gets confusing; for example, while treating an asthmatic pig patient, you need to move the cursor with WASD and press the arrows on the keyboard as directed on the screen. I kept messing this up, even after figuring it out. Then the patient was released.
Finley also relies on a smartphone, where we can find all the characters we meet during the game, our schedule, and text messages, which add context to the game and also helps with navigation. At the beginning of each shift, he is reminded by our boss to download today’s schedule, where we see in which room what kind of treatment is expected of us.
One thing to note about the controls is whenever you need Finley to go up when he can go straight, you need to jump. If you want to go up that hill, you’ll know which one, instead of just straight through – you need to hop.
While the game is mainly linear, we have some choices; whether we walk or take the bus to work, if we take the elevator or the stairs, we should play basketball with a colleague or drink beer with another after work. We have mundane life choices to make, which ultimately adds to the context of the game.
Art style
From what I can see, people endlessly compare Fall of Porcupine with Night in the Woods. I’ve never played Night in the Woods, but I see style-like similarities. However, Fall of Porcupine looks to me to be much prettier.
The art style is simplified and colourful, like a cartoon. It is primarily a 2d side stroller; however, you might need to jump slightly. Fall is a beautiful season, and even more so in Porcupine. The colours are vibrant and soothing.
The soundtrack nicely compliments the whole experience; it’s a mix between folk rock and dramatic and whimsical instrumental pieces. On your way to work, you can hear the bird song. The characters aren’t voiced, their speech is in bubbles, but it doesn’t take away from the experience.
The town of Porcupine feels alive- it has a bus line that’s not always running on time, a cast of characters walking its streets, and local shops and places you can visit after work. The weather is changeable and autumn. After a rainstorm, you can see the aftermath in the background on your way to work.
Side Notes
Fall of Porcupine has Steam achievements and trading cards.
The game includes a trigger warning at the beginning, explaining that the game deals with issues relating to stress, illness, death, and self-doubt, among other things, so you may pause the game at any time you feel unwell, and consider contacting family, friends or a professional for support. I think it’s a nice feature which more game developers should include in their games.
Fascinating inclusion is the accessibility options such as dyslexia font, subtitles, and even a player guide, which appears as directions on what to do on the upper side of the screen. You can turn all of these off and on at any time without losing game progression.
I’ve seen complaints about bugs, but I haven’t experienced any. Only one time, one of the characters talking to Finley was on the side of the screen, but the scene ran normally otherwise.
Conclusion
Some people complained about Fall of Porcupine being uneven tonally. I don’t feel like that. The game looks light-hearted, but the topic is a resident caring for patients in a derelict hospital. For what it’s worth, I think that the tonal switches were handled beautifully. There is warmth, fairness, and humanity in the relationship between the characters, and for that alone, I recommend Fall of Porcupine.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot. 