Silly Polly Beast
" Otherworldly action-adventure with unique art and story but frustrating combat balance "
Silly Polly Beast Review
Silly Polly Beast is a visually striking indie game with a unique blend of twin-stick shooter mechanics, survival horror elements, and narrative-driven gameplay. Players praise its art direction, atmospheric presentation, and intriguing storyline, which combines supernatural themes with personal trauma in a compelling way. The game features a mix of combat styles including ranged shooting, melee, and skateboard-based attacks, alongside varied camera angles and level design that keep the gameplay fresh.
However, many players express frustration with the game's combat balance and resource scarcity, especially concerning ammo and healing items. Difficulty spikes, enemy damage, and stamina mechanics often force players into repetitive and punishing encounters, sometimes resulting in soft-lock situations. Despite these issues, the developer is actively addressing balance and quality-of-life improvements through patches. Overall, the game is recognized as a passionate solo-developed project with great potential and a dedicated fanbase, recommended for those who enjoy challenging, atmospheric indie games with strong artistic vision.
Highlights
Art direction and atmosphere receive widespread acclaim for their unique, eerie, and stylish presentation.
The storyline is praised for its emotional depth, intriguing mystery, and well-crafted characters.
Gameplay mechanics such as the combination of ranged and melee combat, skateboard sections, and dynamic camera angles are appreciated for adding variety and challenge.
The soundtrack and audio design complement the mood effectively, enhancing immersion.
Players also commend the developer's responsiveness to community feedback and ongoing improvements.
Criticisms
Common criticisms focus on combat balance issues, with many players finding ammo and healing items too scarce, leading to frustrating difficulty spikes.
The melee combat is often described as weak and clunky, forcing reliance on stamina-heavy dodging and making encounters feel tedious.
Enemy behaviors such as input-reading attacks, invincibility frames, and rapid counters contribute to perceived unfairness.
Some sections feature soft-lock potential due to autosave mechanics combined with low health and resources.
Backtracking with enemy respawns and grinding for currency can feel repetitive and unfun.
Controls, especially aiming on controllers, have been criticized for awkwardness and lack of polish.
Pros
- • Unique and captivating art style with excellent visual design.
- • Engaging and emotionally resonant storyline with strong characters.
- • Varied gameplay combining shooting, melee, and skateboarding.
- • Dynamic and cinematic camera angles enhance immersion.
- • Atmospheric soundtrack that complements the game’s mood.
- • Developer actively listens and updates the game regularly.
- • Challenging combat that rewards strategic resource management.
Cons
- • Combat balance issues causing frustrating difficulty spikes.
- • Ammo and healing items are scarce and costly to replace.
- • Melee combat feels weak and stamina mechanics slow gameplay.
- • Enemy AI with invincibility frames and input-reading attacks.
- • Potential soft-locks due to autosave and low health situations.
- • Repetitive backtracking with enemy respawns can be tedious.
- • Controller aiming and targeting can feel awkward and unresponsive.
Rating Criteria
An otherworldly, story-driven shooter with aggressive gunfights and terrifying monsters awaits you. This is the story of a girl who, by the will of fate, faced the beast - and in order to become free, she was forced to study its nature. How far can you go in the fight for your freedom?