Pony Island

 PC
Pony Island Image
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 256 Ratings

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  • Summary: Pony Island is a suspense puzzle game in disguise. You are in limbo, trapped in a malevolent and malfunctioning arcade machine devised by the devil himself.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. PLAY! Zine
    Feb 5, 2016
    100
    Do not let the screenshots turn you away. Pony Island is a genuinely smart game which manages to surprise you all the way through its short running time. "One trick pony" this is not.
  2. PC Gamer
    Jan 22, 2016
    91
    Sharp, multilayered satire that remembers to be a game even as it makes fun of us for playing.
  3. IGN
    Jan 19, 2016
    90
    I greatly enjoyed the two or so hours it took me to play through Pony Island. This is a game that delights in toying with your expectations and in breaking the fourth wall, in revealing its sinister yet playful world, and in building up a compelling antagonist and telling an ambiguous story. Pony Island is about as punk rock as they come.
  4. Multiplayer.it
    Jan 21, 2016
    85
    The game created by Daniel Mullins is one of the most alienating experiences ever made. Dark tones, black humour and meta-references are supported by interesting hacking puzzles that needs inductive reasoning. Really surprising.
  5. GameCrate
    Jan 29, 2016
    85
    Due to the fact that Pony Island only asks a minor investment in terms of both time and price point ($5), but even more so because it's just so much fun, it falls under "must-play" territory and provides a vastly different experience from other modern-day indies.
  6. Pelit (Finland)
    Apr 12, 2016
    84
    Wretched Devil itself has slithered inside an arcade machine and tenderly shackles the player inside it. Metafictional loop of satanistic ponies wittily dance through an evening it lasts. [Apr 2016]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. games(TM)
    Apr 14, 2016
    70
    Clever, unique, inventive but brief and repetitive. [Issue#172, p.91]

See all 30 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 45
  3. Negative: 5 out of 45
  1. HuckingAwesome
    Jan 7, 2016
    10
    An incredible experience. Funny, creepy, baffling, and engrossing, Pony Island is an experience that everyone should have. I don't want toAn incredible experience. Funny, creepy, baffling, and engrossing, Pony Island is an experience that everyone should have. I don't want to spoil everything, but at $5 on Steam, this is a steal. Give it a try, and give the Devil his due.… Expand
  2. aditya1101
    Oct 5, 2017
    10
    This is a super clever game that goes about its satire of other video games in a way that is very over the top and ridiculous but also wellThis is a super clever game that goes about its satire of other video games in a way that is very over the top and ridiculous but also well thought out. I really enjoyed it and have played through it 3 times now.… Expand
  4. brockcheese
    Jan 12, 2016
    9
    This game is amazing. It's disturbing engrossing and overall enjoyable. As long as you can get past the title, the rest of the game is a blastThis game is amazing. It's disturbing engrossing and overall enjoyable. As long as you can get past the title, the rest of the game is a blast to play and sucks you right into the world with its weird characters.… Expand
  5. RMDsilva
    Aug 28, 2017
    8
    Super unexpected, funny and old school gaming - the best is how it makes you play simple games and make you alert to whatever oddball might beSuper unexpected, funny and old school gaming - the best is how it makes you play simple games and make you alert to whatever oddball might be coming at you next
    wish it was bigger, more complex, varied and a little deeper (:    … Expand
  6. tom_harding
    Dec 28, 2020
    7
    A very short and very sweet metagame. I can't actually say anymore without spoiling it so just go and play... You won't regret it. AfterwardsA very short and very sweet metagame. I can't actually say anymore without spoiling it so just go and play... You won't regret it. Afterwards go and learn your fractions with Frog Fractions.… Expand
  7. Datamari
    Feb 3, 2016
    7
    PONIES!
    Pony Island is one of the most clever indie games i've played in a long time, however runs thin after awhile. It starts out as an    PONIES!
    Pony Island is one of the most clever indie games i've played in a long time, however runs thin after awhile. It starts out as an innocent endless runner, but later on, it becomes dark. You're trying to fight against the video game by completing different variations of one puzzle, and it tries to break the 4th wall... a bit too hard. 4th wall breaking in games has already been done, so this game really isn't anything new. The game had a lot of potential to be balls-to-the-wall insane with it's 4th wall, but it just pokes it. It's not a bad game, but it really should've been something more.

    Pony Island gets a 7/10.    … Expand
  8. Crimert
    Apr 6, 2020
    1
    Very frustrating puzzles! I couldn't bear it! I could play only 20min on record!

See all 45 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

23
#23 Best PC Game of 2016
71
#71 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016

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