If I were to introduce Apopia: Sugar Coated Tale as a game unlike no other, you’d no doubt assume that’s hyperbole to get you to buy the game, as I’m sleeping with the folks at Quillo Entertainment Limited. You can buy the game or not – I’ll never know, but I can only give you my opinion, having played this gem of a game. And for the record, I’m not sleeping with anyone. I’m not that kind of girl.
This review is starting to be a bit cliché, but let me ask you a question: how many times has a game’s intro got you stoked, only for the game to be nothing like the cutscene you just saw? This game isn’t going to blow you away with stunning 3D visuals, then leave the chat by doing a half-arsed job by removing all elements of charm. That’s something Apopia: Sugar Coated Tale is abundant in.
I couldn’t quite pinpoint who the target audience was based on the characters and the somewhat innocent dialogue. It wasn’t witty enough to overuse in-on-the-joke anecdotes, though it was self-aware of what it was and very capable of breaking the fourth wall with its narrative and style of play. No matter, we’re going off on a tangent again. What’s it all about?
In Apopia: Sugar Coated Tale, you play as Mai. Mai starts the game while hiking on a mountain. This looks like one of those cutscenes mentioned, but you actually get to play this sequence from the get-go, and can subsequently take accountability when she falls into a cave and is separated from her mother, also on the hike. When she awakes in the cave, she discovers that he is in the land of Yoghurt, and will now encounter a bizarre cast who’ll enlist her to do evil deeds.
Alright, so these evil deeds are more fetch quests as the game serves much like a point and click adventure. Talking with other characters, such as a group of musketeer rabbits, will unlock some favours to complete, and in return, you may now be able to access a new area. Naturally, Mai’s quest soon merges into all these fetch quests and potentially vanquishing the ruler of Yoghurt, named Muller. Sorry, Boss.
This is essentially the pattern in Apopia: Sugar Coated Tale, as you meet new characters and find a way to scratch one another’s backs. It’s surprisingly quite an easy setup in terms of the point and click part, utilising a very basic inventory system that makes it easy to use an object when in the vicinity of a key focal point. What makes this different to most is the mini-games.
There’s an element of Knuckle Sandwich or Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass with its wacky selection and eclectic modes. They’re mostly intuitive, too, making the game flow at a decent pace, though there are some timed efforts where you can fail and have to redo until you get it right. This isn’t as hard as it may sound, but I didn’t like the timed sections as they typically didn’t feel urgent enough. A very minor aspect, mind.
Overall, however, Apopia: Sugar Coated Tale is a very inviting and inclusive world. Never would I have thought Yoghurt would be so alluring since that experimental time in college, but truly, it is. Looks aren’t everything, but the art style and transitions throughout are a delight. It’s ambitious, yet still able to deliver, and it’s something your kids can play. Well, mine wanted a go and a couple of hours later gave the Steam Deck back. Bored? No. The battery ran out. That might just tell you something. Don’t read into it, Apopia: Sugar Coated Tale is great, I’m not gonna sugar coat it.
