A Game Called Paako
Released Mar 2024
It’s a game. It’s called Paako. It’s A Game Called Paako. It’s a game called A Game Called Paako. It’s about Paako, but also about A Game Called Paako. It’s only about Paako, but it’s not only about Paako. You’ll finish A Game Called Paako, but you won’t finish A Game Called Paako.
76% positive · 242 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Where to get it
Free on Steam
Evaluation
A Game Called Paako launched on March 22, 2024. The developer (Chaoba) noted at launch that some dialogue and level polish wasn't quite where they wanted it, and promised a follow-up patch within the week. That patch — v1.2 — arrived on March 29, 2024, polishing the final section of the game, adding an achievement display panel, and fixing minor bugs. The closing message "Thank you for playing this game. Hope you enjoyed it" signals that the developer considered the game complete at that point. Since then, the only developer activity has been sales and event posts — no new content announcements, no roadmaps, and no unreleased DLC. The one DLC listed ("The Game Called Paako") released alongside the base game on March 22, 2024 and appears to be part of the core package. This is a self-contained, story-driven free-to-play indie game that launched as a finished product and received a single polish pass shortly after release.
Evidence
v1.2 polish patch ships, addressing the final section, achievements, and minor bugs. Developer closes with 'Thank you for playing this game. Hope you enjoyed it.'
Developer announces launch, acknowledges minor polish issues in the final stretch, promises a patch within the week
Content
1 of 1 released · no outstanding content
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
Hawthorn Games
Achievements
38
Platform
Windows
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player
About this game
A Game Called Paako is a pixel-art 2D platformer metagame that tells the story of a game major graduate student making his thesis game project: A Game Called Paako.
- Quality-certified double jump and wall jump mechanics. (Very old-school)
- A fishing minigame. (Of course)
- Watch a talk show. (Why?)
- Find a job. (Or at least try to)
- Listen to your own echo. (No, I don’t have one)
A Game Called Paako is initially an MFA thesis project at the University of Southern California created by Chaoran Huang, developed with help of Team Paako. For more information, please visit our publisher page. To learn more about the USC Games program, the #1 Games Program in the world, check out the USC Games website.
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Jun 21, 2026
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