Pupa (2024)

Low effort marketplace grift.

"Pupa" is another cancerous non-game "clicker" with no purpose other than to manipulate the Steam community marketplace. It's designed for the developer to farm the game and then sell Steam marketplace items at a premium, much like the "banana" clicker. This rubbish is harmful to Steam and to the gaming industry. It gives indie devs a bad name. It takes up visibility, so genuine indie devs have to compete with this crap to find an audience for their games. It makes it harder for gamers to find genuinely made games. This features really godawful, lazy pixelcrap "art" instead of real graphics. It's hard to say if this was because the developer didn't have the skill to do the job of creating 3D visuals, or couldn't afford to hire someone who does, but it also doesn't matter. What matters is that this looks bad because of that decision, and that's a major deterrent to gamers. Games like Terraria and Stardew Valley succeeded [i]despite[/i] the bad graphics, not because of them. This is "free" enough, at least you won't be expected to spend any more money after you download this, but just because something is free doesn't mean it's good. Even though this is "free", it failed t…

Steam inventory fluffer, if you like such this'll be your cup of tea, if not need I say it? Also Laorari looks like they should be riding in a sidecar. That's all.

Pupa has a lot of potential as a pixel art item drop and trading game, but it currently feels like it’s in its early stages. The concept is solid, and the Steam market integration adds a nice layer of trading fun. However, with many features still missing and dropped skins not yet usable, the game feels half-finished. That said, if the developers follow through on their plans and polish things up, this could become worth something. Keeping an eye on for future updates, as it could truly spread its wings and shine.

Relaxing and simple, just what I needed.

Pupa is about as simple as a game can get. The main thing I am doing is clicking on the screen and hoping to get new skins, with the whole experience built around that very basic loop. There is no big story or complicated system to learn, and I can understand what I am supposed to do almost immediately. It has a colourful pixel art style with a retro feel, which gives the game a little more personality than the actual gameplay probably deserves. The skin collecting is the main reason I can see myself spending any real time with it. Getting a new item gives the otherwise repetitive clicking a small sense of purpose, and I like the idea of building up a collection over time. The game is also free to play, so I can try it without having to spend anything upfront. There are interactive elements and chance based purchases, though, so the simple free game does have a marketplace side to it that I have to keep in mind. The biggest problem for me is that there really is not much gameplay underneath the idea. I click the screen and wait for the chance of getting another skin. That is basically the entire experience. There are no interesting puzzles, combat mechanics or progression systems…