The Metroidvania revival (did it ever really go away?) keeps rolling, and here comes another stylised combat-platformer where a strange little hero gets lost in a dark, labyrinthine fantasy world.
This time, our protagonist is John, who stumbles into a bizarre realm full of somnambulist weirdos and giant babies. Studio Cima has crafted a disturbing, stylised trip that deftly builds on themes of psychological trauma and fear. The Perfect Pencil can be pretty impenetrable at times, but it stays compelling throughout.
John’s actual goal is never fully clear, which only adds to the fever-dream vibe of the world he wanders through. Initially headless, he acquires an old projector for a bonce and ventures out armed with nothing but a giant pencil.
Bedtime iconography is everywhere: NPCs speak in riddles, and you’re never totally sure who’s trying to help you and who’s planning to stab you in the back. Both enemies and allies are equally creepy. John meets dead‑eyed sleepwalkers wrapped in random junk, or oddball creatures offering to teach him martial arts.
The Camera Obscura atop John’s neck lets him scan the environment, which helps with navigating the (sometimes pretty convoluted) map and uncovering secrets tied to the main quest.
While a lot of recent Metroidvanias lean heavily on tough combat and tricky platforming chains, The Perfect Pencil is more focussed on exploration. You’ll poke around its surreal dreamscape, run side‑tasks for NPCs, and upgrade John’s projector with ability‑boosting filaments.
There’s still a solid amount of combat as you battle with those sleepy enemies scattered across the games diverse biomes. They’re not especially tough, but their placement can lead to some annoying deaths and long runbacks. Boss fights are fun setpieces with bigger enemies that are literal manifestations of the game’s themes. Like their smaller counterparts, they also love flattening John and sending him back to distant save points.
John fights these Tim Burton‑esque foes with a simple melee offence. His most useful skill is a heal strike that converts the energy from consecutive attacks into a health‑restoring hit. It’s a neat ability that stays handy throughout the game. His attacks can be upgraded by spending a resources scattered throughout the levels and by defeating enemies.
Combat and traversal across this uniquely designed world feels smooth in both handheld and docked modes, with zero performance issues. This has none of the razors-edge twitchiness of Silksong or the recently released Mio, but it’s nice to see the painstaking art style in clear detail during John’s tribulations. The Switch continues to be a comfortable home for artistically-driven Metroidvanias.
Despite being another in an ever increasing genre stable, The Perfect Pencil brings a uniquely twisted world to the genre. Its mysteries can be a bit dense, but the eerie atmosphere, complex themes, and strange landscapes make it worth exploring.
