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These are the Wum, Blussers, Splenkhakkers, and Fnakkers.
The second they arrived on the planet, the Fnakkers decided they wanted to rule it!
Immediately, a war started. The other three races bundled their powers and pushed the Fnakkers down a sinkhole...

Welcome to the Wondrous World of Wuppo!

Wuppo is a 2D Indie action platformer developed by Knuist & Perzik, a two-man team from the Netherlands. Development began in 2009, officially releasing on Steam in September 2016 with several trailers (and even a contest) in-between. You can find its Steam page here.

Taking place in a bright, colorful, hand-drawn world, Wuppo focuses on the story of a lone Wum traveling the world in search of a new home. You'll fight numerous enemies, encounter charming creatures, collect countless items, and uncover secrets about the world's rich history all while listening to an ever-changing soundtrack by Thomas de Waard. The game can loosely be described as a platforming adventure-game hybrid, with the game putting lots of emphasis on dialogue and exploration, with the occasional boss fight to spice things up. Notably, the game contains many simulationist elements, such as a train system that runs real-time independently of the player, a Day-Night cycle, and a theme park that features lines you have to physically stand in while waiting for your turn on the rides. All of this adds up to create a world that is surprisingly detailed and well realized for a game as simple-looking as this.

In 2021, a competitive multiplayer spin-off game entitled Wuppo: Breft Festival (Forever) was announced. Unfortunately, it failed to meet its Kickstarter goal and is currently Vaporware. Knuist & Perzik have since gone on to rebrand as snekflat and are planning on releasing a new game Tiny Terrys Turbo Trip.


Wuppo contains examples of the following tropes:

  • Abnormal Ammo: Between all the paint and mud lies the Newspaper Cannon - a device that ejects bundles of recent media and crossword puzzles with enough force to push its wielder back.
  • Amusement Park: Wondersplenk. It does a great job of emulating a real one - it has a ticket-like currency in the form of Splenkhakker coins, souvenir shops, lineups, minigames, and rides!
  • Anthropomorphic Food: King Cone, a boss fought in the Wumhouse, and Murk, fought at Dorst Cafe.
  • Anti-Escapism Aesop: The primary message of the game can summed up as this: you'll never accomplish anything meaningful if you stay inside all day. The only way to make any meaningful change to the world is to go outside for once.
  • Big Bad Duumvirate: Bankkrent and Chef Fnaquere. Chef Fnaquere is the Brains, being the mastermind behind the Fnakkers' feud with the other races. Bankkrent is the Brawn; he's the Final Boss, but is more of an Almighty Idiot who doesn't seem to be entirely aware of the consequences of his actions.
  • Big Good: Redav Kned, a creature from the Krenkktorium that wants to link his world and the game's together in order to share ideas and objects. He's a Nice Guy, though, and works in opposition to the Bankkrent.
  • Bilingual Bonus: Most names are either Dutch or Dutch sounding words:
    • Allesweter = Allknower.
    • Allesdenker = Allthinker.
    • Blusser = Fire Extingusher.
    • Bankkrent = Term for expired food you find under the furniture.
    • Denksnavel = Thinkbeak.
    • Dorst Cafe = Thirst Cafe.
    • Redav Kned = Father Think, written backwards.
    • Tussen Dimension = In-Between Dimension.
  • Blackout Basement: It's incredibly hard, but possible, to make it through the tunnel without a light source. The only light throughout these caves are the glowing jellyfish creatures and the occasional bio-luminescent plants.
  • Boss-Only Level: The Flipside.
  • Boss Rush: Unlocked after beating the game.
  • Character Development: Carlo, the Wumhouse's customer service Wum. At the beginning of the game, he's clearly not impressed with ice-cream Wum's messy behavior and even has the guards forcibly extract them from the Wumhouse. When you manage to get back in, he's still angry - but somewhat sympathetic - toward you. It only gets better from here, as explained in his diary filmstrips.
  • Chekhov's Gun: The game will frequently call back to itself as the plot progresses. For example, you obtain a hat very early on that is specifically mentioned to resemble a fnakker. When the Popo City drill breaches the Sinkhole wall, you can disguise yourself as a Fnakker by wearing said hat.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: The Wum's who man the projectors: the Allesweter and the Allesdenker. You later encounter the Allesfnakker in the Sinkhole, and he is the only one of the three projector masters that will reward you for showing him the Blione filmstrip- which you obtained all the way back at the very beginning of the game.
  • Charged Attack: The Bazooka.
  • Digital Piracy Is Evil: If the game detects you've pirated it, all shopkeepers will call you out and lecture you to stop. They'll even make items free if you show no remorse, to make you feel less accomplished.
    "Heyyyy, it's my all time favorite thief, also known as my least favorite customer!"
  • Double Jump: The Wum and most other races are capable of this from the start.
  • Dressing as the Enemy: When you enter the sinkhole, you'll need to wear a pot helmet to avoid being spotted.
  • Easter Egg: Bufter, the salesman. He's hidden in the demo version of the game.
  • Eldritch Location: Krenktorium, and the Tussen dimension to a extent.
  • Failure Is the Only Option: At the start of the game, Carlos reminds you of the time you spilled ice-cream through the entire hallway and warns you specifically not to do it again. Guess what happens when the ice-cream starts dripping?
  • Fantastic Racism: Subverted. While the Wums are the most plentiful and intelligent of the planet's races, they don't have any problems with the others for the most part. The Bliones are hostile but can be negotiated with, the Kneft are vermin akin to rats, and the Wums have a positive relationship with the Splenkhakkers and Blussers. The Fnakkers, on the other hand, are an entire race of belligerent Jerkasses who want to rule over the rest of the races. Their inability to share with the other three major races of the planet led them to getting tossed into the sinkhole. Wums now have a pretty severe hatred of the fnakkers by the time the game begins.
  • Fortune Teller: The Splenkhakker at Fortunis Splenk offers to read your future for Splenkhakker coins. The 'future' can be anything from actual glimpses ahead, hints on what to do, and even just flavorful trivia.
  • Foreshadowing: Early on in the game, you can encounter the Sinkhole to the right of the ruins. If you note the placement of Popo City and the Wumhouse relative to the Sinkhole, you'll find that the Drill Hall leads directly into the Sinkhole.
  • Fungus Humongous: Overlaps with Springy Spores. Some mushrooms in the Wumgarden are nearly as tall as the screen.
  • Giant Squid: The squid-like creature off the coast of the Blusser Islands.
  • Happily Ever After: After beating Bankkrent, the ending shows what happens for Scallywag and other characters in a slideshow.
  • Head Pet: As the Wum carry items on their heads, that is where Denksnavel ends up perched.
  • Hearts Are Health: Both the Life Meter and some health drops from enemies are heart bubbles, just with a different design.
  • Halloween Episode: On Halloween, Wondersplenk is redecorated to fit the holiday, including pumpkins, ghosts, nightmares, and... a sentient hi-hat?
  • Interspecies Friendship:
    • Uberhenk, a Wum from Popocity, managed to befriend a Kneft and named it Breevis. Their friendship is shown to be pretty strong.
    • The Wum and Denksnavel may also count, depending on the player's own thoughts.
  • In-Universe Game Clock: There's a day & night cycle everywhere in the world, with different events taking place in certain locales depending on the time.
  • Jump Scare: Most notably with the Giant Squid near the Blusser Islands. It's got a bit of buildup, with its silhouette visible beneath the waves here and there.
  • Mass Monster-Slaughter Sidequest: You're given the option to fight off a massive Kneft infestation in the back of Tubias' building.
  • Justified Save Point: Early on, when you see a save pot for the first time, you hear that it "copies your energy or something".
  • Mythology Gag:
    • One of the purchasable items from the Blusser Island shop is the Gucu Hat. It looks exactly like a Green Skull Cap, the hat the developer's character wore in his old Maplestory videos. The tooltip even refers to 'the good old days'.
    • An easter egg hidden in the demo version of the game is a reference to Dragon 218, a earlier work by the developers with a single episode.
    • After beating the game, playing through the game again can cause Frederick Fish to be replaced with twkld, a reference to the previous logo and name of Knuist & Perzik.
    • Another possible change is Denksnavel's color being blue (his color in the beta) or green (his color in the demo). These colors are also referenced if you play the full game for the first time after playing either the demo or beta.
    • The OCSEDEOS stores are a reference to Soedesco, the publishers of the game.
  • Non-Standard Game Over:
    • Just before confronting the Bankkrent, he asks you for just one more mudball. Giving it to him causes him to puke a torrent of mud that fills up the whole screen, killing you.
    • Can also be self-inflicted with the Warp Mask.
  • Optional Boss:
    • Bram, the monster in Dorst Caffe, and the Traffic Light With Fists (TLWF) do not need to be defeated to progress the story.
    • Zwepel, the Ultimate Pumpkin Nightmare is a secret boss that can only be fought after beating the game.
  • Pop Quiz:
    • To get the Willie Disguise and access the top of the Wumhouse, you must answer three questions about the Carillon. Luckily, you don't actually have to get them right.
    • There's also the Wisest Wum, a gameshow that asks many questions about the game and its lore, as well as some questions about yourself to allow the audience to get you better.
  • Recoil Boost: Firing a charged shot with the Bazooka will launch you slightly in the other direction, allowing for faster movement.
  • Save Point: In the form of tea kettles scattered around the world.
  • Shout-Out: Rami, and his game intro is a reference to the dutch independent game development studio Vlambeer.
  • Shock and Awe:
    • The shop outside of the Wumhouse lets you swap your Gumgumgun out for an electricity cannon. It's identical in function, just with flashy new sounds and effects.
    • Several fnuistful light-emitting enemies also inflict electricity damage if you're hit by them.
  • Springy Spores: There are many, many bouncy mushrooms throughout the world in varying sizes.
  • Standard Fantasy Races: Surprisingly, yes! Wums, Blussers, Splenkhakkers, Fnakkers and Bliones are roughly analogous to humans, elves, dwarves, goblins and orcs respectively. Though of course they look completely different, they serve the same general role as each of their equivalents in a more generic fantasy setting.
  • Warp Whistle: Unlocked at the very end of the game in Tussen. It is the only way to get to the final boss, and it can be reached by putting on the Warp Mask and dying.
  • Warp Zone: The Tussen Dimension. It's even got its own Warp Whistle - the Warp Mask.

That was pretty magical, wasn't it? How about another one?

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