POPUCOM is a casual multiplayer platform co-op title by the creators of Arknights where players journey through an unknown planet. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
POPUCOM Review Overview
What is POPUCOM?
POPUCOM is a multiplayer co-op platform adventure title where players are summoned to a mysterious exoplanet by way of distress signal, as its neighboring moon is threatening to take over the planet with its army of Pomus. Players will face off against these Pomus, armed with their trusty Rainbow Popper as well as a variety of other super artifacts that test the player’s abilities to fight, puzzle-solve, and match-3! Eliminate all these threats and restore the world to its former glory—before it's too late.
Developed by Hypergryph and published by Gryph Frontier, POPUCOM aims to offer a fun gameplay experience for two (up to four), taking on a variety of combat challenges and puzzles where the only solution forward is found through teamwork.
POPUCOM features:
⚫︎ 3D Platforming
⚫︎ Match-3 Gunplay Combat Elements
⚫︎ Splatoon Vibes
⚫︎ Innovative Puzzle Solving
⚫︎ Playable With Up To 3 Friends
| Digital Storefronts | |
|---|---|
 Steam |
 PlayStation |
| $19.99 | Wishlist Only |
POPUCOM Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Engaging Platforming Gameplay with Match-3 Mechanics Challenging Puzzles Colorful, Pop Art Style |
Strictly Co-Op Only |
POPUCOM Overall Score - 78/100
POPUCOM is a fantastic and engaging blend of 3D platforming, puzzle-solving, color-matching Match-3, and gunplay mechanics that is sure to test your teamwork with your player two. The game has something for everyone, and is just balanced enough to not be incredibly difficult, but not such a bore either. The game is fun, spunky, and vibrant, from its audio and visuals to its gameplay.
POPUCOM Story - 7/10
POPUCOM’s story is not something entirely new—you and your player two are summoned to a planet that’s on the verge of being overrun by an evil entity and its minions, and are then tasked to save the world. It’s your typical "save the world from destruction" plotline, but because of POPUCOM’s overall vibe, it doesn’t feel heavy or leave a feeling of dread—it’s lighthearted and fun. That said, its story doesn’t feel like the central focus of the game, and feels like it just exists to give motivation to the players.
POPUCOM Gameplay - 9/10
Gameplay is where POPUCOM shines—the game’s engaging color-matching Match-3 gunplay and puzzle mechanics combined with familiar 3D platforming features such as special abilities make it a joy to play. It took all the fun elements from these different genres and made it into something that works smoothly, while also being difficult enough to be a challenge. Should it prove a little more difficult than usual, the game gets plus points as well for having accessibility options such as stronger automatic aiming, and even a colorblindness option.
POPUCOM Visuals - 8/10
I’ll say it straight out—if you’re a fan of Splatoon-esque aesthetics, then POPUCOM is right up your alley. The cartoon-y chibi characters are vibrant and cute, as it is with the Pomu enemies as well, who look like adorable, neon-colored blobs of jelly—even the bosses don’t look threatening at all, considering they’re made out of multicolored jelly spheres most of the time. The game’s environments are also quite detailed in a way that each stage evidently looks different from one another, despite some being in the same area. An overall very lighthearted and warm aesthetic, made even better by just how smooth the game played, with little to no visible lags.
POPUCOM Audio - 7/10
The game’s audio and sound design go hand in hand with the game’s overall aesthetic—punchy, funky, and vibrant. It somehow feels like a soundtrack that wouldn’t feel too out of place in a cozy farming sim title. In terms of sound design, the game feels alive, with most interactables having a complementary sound effect to go with it. From jumping noises to the buzz of your handy drone companion Captain Kitty and the satisfying (paint? blob?) bullet sounds, POPUCOM’s audio brings it all together to make for one lively game.
POPUCOM Value for Money - 8/10
For $20 for two players in local co-op, it’s pretty much a steal—a fun afternoon for two lounging around for the price of a meal. While the option for online play requires double that, its content and engaging mechanics more than make up for its price tag. Aside from the main story and levels, there are extra mini-games, collectibles, and secrets to discover, offering perhaps around 20 or more hours of playtime depending on your (or your partner’s) need for completion.
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POPUCOM Review: It’s Poppin’
In my search for the next game to play, POPUCOM came waving its brightly colored arms at me from Steam’s front trending page, screaming at me to play it. I love myself a vibrant, colorful looking game, and POPUCOM seemed just right up my alley. I belatedly realized that it was a co-op game and not a cutesy RPG-type of game, but its release trailer hooked me in even more. Everything looked fun and whimsical, an explosion of more happy stuff in comparison to most games out on the market right now.
Before I go into the review, I just wanted to note also that one of the things that stood out to me the most was that this game is developed by Hypergryph, widely known for their popular strategy title Arknights, which I may have sunk quite a ginormous amount of time into way back when. The rest of their game library exudes the same vibes as the serious, lore-heavy title, such as the upcoming real-time 3D RPG Arknights: Endfield, and premium mobile turn-based RPG game Ex Astris. On the other hand, POPUCOM (stylized in full capital letters) sticks out like a sore thumb with its bright, poppy colors and 3D, cartoon-y style of visuals.
With that said though, Hypergryph is known for a certain level of quality with their works—it’s one of the reasons why Arknights is still going strong despite being five years old, which I believe is a pretty solid lifetime for a live-action game. Along that vein, POPUCOM did not disappoint.
Its Visuals Seem To Be A Nod To Splatoon And Others
The first thing that players will notice is its visuals—first impressions, of course, and one can’t be helped but be reminded of another paint-ball shooter game centered around colors. The homage to Splatoon is evident in the game’s visuals, from the chibi-fied player characters and the variety of clothing customization to the combat mechanic that has you shooting out what looks like paint balls out of your Rainbow Popper gun, with color matching being an important aspect.
With that said, its visuals are round, bright, and very cartoon-y, which fits perfectly with the game’s overall rather lighthearted plot (despite the looming threat of destruction). There’s color absolutely everywhere, from your character to your weapons to the jelly Pomus—heck, even the bosses’ HP bar is a lovely gradient of rainbow colors, as well as your hearts when you get damaged—no boring old red hearts here.
I would also just like to add that the outfit customization is a great feature as well, with many clothing items seemingly nodding to other great games as well—at least in vibes. There’s no definitive confirmation from Hypergryph as far as I know, but my eagle-eyed player two has noted that some of them have similarities to character items in games like Final Fantasy XV and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. We may be grasping at straws here, but if you’re able to check out the game’s extensive clothing list, perhaps you may arrive at the same conclusion.
However, the similarities pretty much end there—POPUCOM has its own type of gameplay going on.
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Innovative and Engaging Gameplay—Upgraded Match-3
Gameplay is where the game really stands out—the innovative blend of match-3, gunplay, 3D platforming, special abilities, a bit of bullet hell, and puzzle mechanics make it enjoyable to play. It’s engaging to the point that most of the time, you have no time to set down the controller—you gotta come up with a plan on the fly, while also working in sync with your partner (or partners, if you’re playing in 4-player party mode).
Everything in the game revolves around the use of color and color-matching, as well as using the Super Artifacts at the right place and perfect timing. You can only defeat Pomus the same color as your character, and in two-player mode, each player has command over two colors which can be switched freely with a press of a button. Additionally, some ramps, hoops, springs, lasers, and other on-field mechanics are color-coded as well. Making sure to be the right color on time, or using the right Artifact, is crucial to success, and it adds more challenge, elevating it higher than just being an average 3D platformer.
The first few levels were simple enough that even someone who wasn’t accustomed to gaming at all might have a good shot with it, and we thought it would be like that for the rest of the game. But holy smokes, we were terribly wrong. Once you complete your set of four Super Artifacts (with one last hidden away somewhere in the later levels, perhaps), the game’s complexity expands by a tenfold. In one area you might be rolling away through narrow passageways as Rollo the Bomb, who turns you into…well, a rolling bomb. Immediately after the next, you need to make use of Power Kid to grapple hook you through platforms or better yet, make you swap places with a rainbow-colored prism called the Prismatetra to get to an otherwise inaccessible area.
It takes quite a bit of brainpower and fast thumbs to solve the puzzles, and it’s in that gameplay that makes POPUCOM all the more engaging and not stale at all. There is a wide range of puzzles to encounter, each with their own type of quirk that makes it at least a bit different from the last one of its type.
Forgiving Mechanics and Accessibility Options
As someone not incredibly well-versed in 3D platformers (or platformers at all, for that matter), I highly appreciated the fact that the game was incredibly forgiving in terms of second chances and beyond. POPUCOM has a three-heart meter denoted on the top of the player’s screen, but it’s not punishing. If you take damage, you are able to take your heart back by shooting it out of its bubble and reclaiming it for yourself (or if you’re a little bit of a cheeky ass, you can steal your partner’s hearts too when they get damaged).
Additionally, this only goes for damage dealt by enemies—falling off platforms in the overworld or anything that makes you pass out does not reduce a heart nor bring you back to the starting point, infinitely letting you try out different solutions to solve the puzzles before you. It took out a mechanic that usually gets people frustrated in other platformers and instead made it so that you had all the time in the world to solve the conundrum preventing you from passing.
I’d also like to highlight the variety of accessibility options present in the game, which help make the entire experience much more enjoyable, especially for those who may not be as familiar with platforming and shooting titles. Firstly, there’s the option to turn on auto aim assist, in either a weak setting for those who want to feel like they’re actually playing, or a stronger option so that you can shoot without having to think if it’s exactly where the target is. POPUCOM is, in my opinion, best played on the controller, and aiming with the controller is not exactly my strong point. An option to have the game help you out with this does wonders, and makes it less frustrating overall.
As a platformer, you’d be jumping up and down on all these…well, different platforms, right? I don’t have the best perception of depth in these games, and I’m glad POPUCOM has made that a little easier to deal with—your landing point is indicated by a white circle, which lets you know exactly where you are and not miscalculate your landing. It’s admittedly something that makes me a little bit more nervous when playing other games. POPUCOM, on the other hand, let me breathe a little easier with just that one improvement.
Strictly Co-Op Only
This isn’t exactly a full-blown con, but it can be for those who don’t necessarily have people readily available to play with. Just putting out a warning for gamers out there who are interested in playing but may not have a player two—there is absolutely no singleplayer mode in this game.
A number of other games marketed as co-op do still have the singleplayer option available, but POPUCOM is definitely meant to be a two- to four-player experience. Hence, you cannot play it at all if your player two is unavailable. There is online co-op, yes, but they are used to make private lobbies and there doesn’t seem to be any indication that there will be public lobbies made available in the future.
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Is POPUCOM Worth It?
Twice The Players, Twice The Fun! (And More)
POPUCOM is an immensely fun and innovative co-op title that I believe people should get to experience. Don’t let the match-3 tag fool you—it’s more than that and it elevates it to a whole new level. Its engaging color-matching gunplay mechanics combined with 3D platforming and a visually appealing art style makes it a blast to play. It has just the right amount of difficulty, challenging enough to feel accomplished, but not boring enough to be stale. Its array of mechanics will also satisfy a number of gamers from different genres—platforming, puzzles, shooting—there’s a little bit for everyone. Unfortunately, it cannot be played alone due to the nature of its mechanics, so to get on the POPUCOM train, you better snag that player two!
And for $20 a pop, it’s a great game to kick back onto the couch with for local co-op. With that said, POPUCOM is a must on your bucket list.
| Digital Storefronts | |
|---|---|
| Steam |
PlayStation |
| $19.99 | Wishlist Only |
POPUCOM FAQ
How many players can play POPUCOM?
POPUCOM is primarily a two-player co-op title, but can be played by up to 4-players in a party-mode.
Game8 Reviews
POPUCOM Product Information
 |
|
| Title | POPUCOM |
|---|---|
| Release Date | June 2, 2025 |
| Developer | Hypergryph |
| Publisher | Gryph Frontier |
| Supported Platforms | PC, PlayStation 5 |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Casual |
| Number of Players | 2-4 |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | POPUCOM Official Website |
