Copoka Review

Copoka is a game about a bird. But it’s also a lot more than that.

I picked this up in one of the humble bundles about 48 years ago. Kind of got it on a whim out of the group of games that came my way and I’m glad I did.

This is, probably, best described as an open world adventure game. Almost like a walking simulator but with flying.

Our bird here lives in the country of Copoka and, well, Copoka is going through some stuff. But we’re just a bird trying to build a nest. We don’t need to worry about things like that. We fly around collecting twigs and feathers to increase our flight speed. And… that’s it. That’s all we do. That’s all we’re tasked with. Building a nest for our little bird children.

But see, that’s not all.

While we fly around we see the countryside. We see the city, the harbor, the farmland. We fly by people, we hear their conversations. We learn that things in Copoka aren’t going well. There’s plague, there’s unrest, there’s dissatisfaction with the government. People are being disappeared, stopped at the border from entering or leaving, and there’s talk of revolution.

But we’re just a bird. That doesn’t matter to us.

And that, folks, is the thing. We’re on the outside of the outside here. Us, the player, are controlling the bird who isn’t being impacted by the events in the game going on around them in anyway.

But that’s what works for me. We’re experiencing the story as it happens around us, but not too us. It’s almost like we’re reading a book by just exploring.

The game is split up into a few chapters and each deals with a different aspect of the Copokan life. The beginnings of the troubles and how they eventually end. I won’t spoil anything. You’ll have to watch or play it yourself.

The graphics are very polygonical. Not a lot of detail on anything really, but that works for this game. It’s an abstract look, and I like it. You can fill in any blanks you should so desire to.

The music is equally sparse in parts. It’s more stings than a soundtrack. Kind of like Minecraft. Some of the music is moment or situation specific but a lot of it just kind of floats in, hangs out a little while, then floats back out. Like thoughts to a Buddhist or clouds in the sky. Some of it is absolutely lovely. I have the soundtrack and will often put it on when I’m working on things. But I also don’t mind just sitting with it and having a listen.