Nintendo Switch Critic Reviews

I see Papetura having a broad appeal to both fans of cinematic puzzle platformers and graphic adventures. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, yet it feels fully realized. It grew on me, and I suspect I’m not alone. With attractive visuals, a captivating world, and more, this game is well worth your attention.

Criticizing this art piece based on the standard semantics of most video games doesn't do it justice. While there is a story and a goal, and you use a controller to make the character interact with the world, this isn't really a game to be judged alongside Mario and Zelda. If you like the art, you should get the game to experience just how far the artists take the medium. [Issue #66 – July/August 2023, p. 20]

Papetura is a million miles away from being a blockbuster movie, yet it shares the same sense of intense energy and craft, which it distils into each second of its game time. Every crease and scrunch of its scenery and characters is shining with Ostafin’s passion. Its rudimentary and vague story, very brief running time, and control niggles do hold it back slightly, but nothing can completely overshadow its captivating presentation.

Papetura is an adventure that fits into those point-and-click works that have become hallmarks of Amanita Design over the years, but it does not come close to the same playful quality. The paper world of this short (but cheap) game is excellently crafted, and the soundtrack could count on a proven industry expert, but it is not enough to recommend the game to all fans of the genre.

Papetura is short and undemanding, and with controls that have made the leap well to the Switch from its point and click Steam origins.

Papetura has captivating visuals and an intriguing setting, but the lack of any real depth to the gameplay and an unfortunately short runtime leave a lot to be desired.

Despite Papetura‘s interesting nature, the puzzles were not entertaining and the story lacked a strong central theme or premise beyond ‘paper’. As a demonstration of the craft involved in animation, Papetura is a wonderful artifact. As a videogame, it is considerably less successful.

The game lacks quality puzzles like in Machinarium or Creaks, and one is left with "only" amazement at the interestingly rendered and a bit crazy world. [Issue#324]