Mr. Pumpkin 2: Kowloon walled city follows a paper cutout man that dreams of riding a dragon. And maybe he’ll achieve that thanks to the people he helps on his journey.
Maybe it’s that Halloween is coming soon and pumpkins remind me of Halloween. Or maybe it was the draw of point and click adventure games. Whatever the reason, I decided to spend some time playing Mr. Pumpkin 2: Kowloon walled city – the sequel to a game I have not played.
So, I had to jump right into the story. There is no recap of what happened in the previous game. There isn’t an explanation as to what is going on, or more details as to the world you will be exploring. Instead, this game starts off with a video of a young kid playing around with a cutout of the main character. He spoke to his grandfather about Kowloon, the Walled City, and asked about what was there. His grandfather talks about it being a place full of crime, but that it may have changed since then. The child then needs to go to dinner, so he leaves the paper cutout on the ground to have an adventure of his own.
Once Mr. Pumpkin is left on the ground, the visual switch to a hand-drawn look and you start to explore Kowloon. He doesn’t talk, but other people understand him, and there is some story about trying to find a dragon, but everyone seems to be too busy. You see, this city is a bit grim, a bit dirty, and a bit bleak. Everyone seems to have their own problem to worry about, and they don’t have much time for you.
So, you need to spend your time solving puzzles and finding the items that these characters need, both to improve their day and to help you move forward. Sometimes, these puzzles are simple nice things like helping someone reach a toy plane that got stuck in some wires or get a watch that was left in a different room and bring it to them. Others are more challenging and meaningful, like giving a sick girl some food so she can survive or finding a cartoon mouse so that a gangster can be tattooed without having to shoot the artist.
These different characters are always happy when you help them, changing their attitude as their lives are improved, even if slightly, and it feels like you are making a big impact within the world. There are many puzzles, like most point and click adventure games, that require you to keep an eye out at your surroundings to figure out the code to unlock something or to change around the pieces of a puzzle or to connect wires in a way that makes sense. Many of them come without instructions, though they aren’t too difficult and can often be solved with a bit of luck.
I quite enjoyed the variety of different characters and puzzles in the game. Everyone seemed to have a different story, yet all lived in this huge, crowded city. There were so many people to help and so much going on. In the end, the game wraps up alright after five chapters with tons of characters. The last chapter was the most challenging for me, but the most rewarding, too. When you are a pumpkin whose dream is to ride a dragon, the world might not understand it, but hopefully through helping them, they will help you achieve your goals.
Mr. Pumpkin 2: Kowloon walled city is available now on Steam.
About The Author
