The Creators of This New Co-Op Game Don't Care If Kids Cheat Death While Trying to Have Fun

POPUCOM lets parents turn off damage, skip levels, and otherwise embrace a level of player customizability that more games should adopt.

One of my pet peeves about many video games that pitch themselves at kids is they rarely include extensive options to tweak how the games play to meet children where they’re at. It presumes a level of proficiency (or interest) that’s not always there. Nintendo is regularly guilty of this, and while the company’s accommodations have improved, there are often times where I wish they’d swap subtly for sheer accessibility.

Enter the new co-op puzzler POPUCOM, a delightful-looking mash up of color matching, bubbles, and platforming, which launched on PC earlier this week.

I’d seen buzz about POPUCOM when a demo became available earlier this year and wondered if it might make sense to try with my oldest. Sadly, the PlayStation 5 version isn’t available yet, but I can tell you it’ll be at the top of the list because of the way the developers have approached letting players find their own fun in their playground.

“One of the core visions behind POPUCOM was to ensure that as many players as possible could find joy in the game,” said the team in a statement sent in response to Crossplay’s questions. “Rather than focusing solely on the sense of accomplishment from overcoming challenges, we cared more about creating an experience where players could simply have fun and make memories with the people they care about. And we believe this experience shouldn't be limited by a player's current skill level.”

This is key: “we believe this experience shouldn’t be limited by a player’s current skill level.” It’s a philosophy. There are different ways to approach this, and it’s not a one size fits all situation. When I spoke to the developers of Astro Bot, they made two points: 

1. In Astro’s Playroom, they secretly made sure it was possible to beat the game by only using a single jump and did not require players to use the “hover” mechanic

2. In Astro Bot, the difficulty of the first world was tuned to be accessible to young players, even if they eventually found the game became too difficult for them

Would I have preferred Astro Bot also include the ability to turn off death? Yes! That’s my preference with most games. But Astro Bot’s approach is undeniably thoughtful.

You won’t be surprised to learn, then, that POPUCOM includes this as an option.

“Players are able to adjust enemy bullet homing strength or even enable full damage immunity, so they won't get stuck on a particular boss,” said the developers. 

Yes, yes, yes. Someone finally gets it. It gets even better, too.

POPUCOM has a tutorial that walks players through how the game works and makes sure they understand its flow, but once that’s over, every single level in the game is available for players to check out. You need a certain amount of collectibles to unlock POPUCOM’s endgame, but you don’t have to complete every level. This is by design.

“In many linear games, hitting a progression wall often leads players to abandon the entire experience,” said the developers. “Each main stage emphasizes different skills—some focus on platforming, while others challenge players with logic and puzzle-solving. Since we know players have different strengths, POPUCOM offers flexible stage progression, rather than forcing them to complete all stages in a fixed sequence.”

Split Fiction actually offered something similar. If you’re struggling with a particular sequence, simply pause the game and skip it. I think it’s pretty brave for a story game to include an option like that. What’s the excuse for games without much story?

Fortunately, POPUCOM is one of those games. I hope more follow in its footsteps.

Have a story idea? Want to share a tip? Got a funny parenting story? Drop Patrick an email.

---

Also:

• My neighbor’s kid got back into Animal Crossing again, and now my oldest is asking about Animal Crossing. It might be time to finally see if that one clicks.

• This is random, but anyone have experience with “coding” apps for young kids? My daughter wants to “make an app” and we’re poking at the various subscription services that promise to help teach your kid how to “code.” Feels a little scam-y.

• More details on how I’m approaching Switch 2 here soon. I’ll have a Switch 2 at launch, but I’m caught up with a wedding and traveling to Los Angeles, as well, which means I’m unlikely to spend much time playing it with my kids at launch.