Un-bear-ably Cute- Polar Panic Review

While the last twenty-eight years have brought a steady stream of retro remakes, Pengo’s gameplay has inspired a scant few diversions in the last two decades. Fortunately, the developers at Eiconic Games haven’t forgotten the formula; their recently released Polar Panic competently updates the forsaken classic.  Unlike many modern recreations, the title balances inspiration and innovation skillfully.

Each of the game’s fifty levels requires players to defeat each stage’s selection of roving antagonists before heading to an exit square. While initial foes move leisurely and carry a minimum of offensive weaponry, later enemies have rocket launchers, flamethrowers, and freeze-inducing firepower. Much of each stages enjoyment emanates from the luring the obtuse opponents into your perilous pathway, and dispatching them with a quick shove of an ice block or box of explosives. Even more gratification can be gained when adversaries are enticed to eliminate each other with an imprudent blast.

Beyond the game’s destroyable, movable, and immobile blocks several other elements litter the glacial environments. Frozen bear statues can be demolished for an extra life, while the enemy-generating igloos that flank the outskirts of most rounds can be obliterating with a dexterous shove of an ice block. Since each stage is scored by a strict time limit, gamers hoping to earn an “A” rating for each round with have to accomplish these tasks with frugal efficiency.

Beyond the title’s extensive Story campaign, players can find additional enjoyment in the game’s two additional gameplay modes. Polar Panic’s Puzzle variant removes the game’s enemies, challenging players to navigate the cunningly-craft environments using a minimal amount of block pushes. Survival is the game’s sole multiplayer element, challenging players to subsist against boundless waves of arctic intruders. It’s unfortunate that this deviation is only for local players; the amount of chaotic bliss found in the mode would have been ideal in an online format.

Polar Panic has two divergent graphical styles. The game’s menus, story screens, world map, and stage summaries are composed of gorgeous hand-drawn art. Each 2D asset is excruciatingly cute and is displayed in meticulous hi-res detail. Although the 3D polygons used during gameplay are nearly as attractive, the game is displayed in a problematic perspective- the title’s low angle can make lining up those horizontal block pushes needlessly challenging.