Secret Ponchos: Review

I like tutorials. I like to learn at a decent pace, get to grips with concepts and figure out what is going on before I am thrown into the deep end or any end, for that matter. So that gives rise to the biggest gripe I have with Secret Ponchos. It’s all deep end, and even though it offers a “Rookie” mode for those that have just braved jumping into its chaotic combat for the first time, learning is still something that the player needs to do under fire here… which can be exceptionally frustrating.

The premise is simple; it’s a stylised Wild West setting, with five characters on offer. Each offers a different approach, with primary and secondary weapons that act rather differently. But the only way you will discover the strengths and weaknesses of each character (which aren’t explained particularly well) is in the heat of battle, which can once again range from annoying to infuriating.

This multiplayer-only battle game offers a scant five levels and three modes, two of which (deathmatch and domination) might as well be that same thing). Despite mastering characters offering a fair amount of depth, the overall experience can be somewhat limited.

Each character can also be improved as the player slogs through match after match, but it gets pretty old quite quickly. More variety is something that the game would certainly benefit from, and an improved lobby system is critical at this time… because Secret Ponchos can get frustrating before the action even starts.

It’s fun, but it needs a lot more to be anything other than mediocre the unbalance between character depth and game style variety needs to be addressed. And a tutorial would have been nice.

6/10

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