Gecko Gods Review: An Indie with Heart, But Not Enough Substance

5 hours ago 4

Published Apr 15, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT

Ethan Krieger (He/Him) is an editor at DualShockers that got started in the writing industry by covering professional basketball for a sports network. Despite being a diehard sports fan (mainly formula one, basketball, American football, and golf), video games have always been his #1 interest.

Every gamer needs to take the time now and then to unwind with a cozy title that isn't going to overload you with objectives and map markers. Sometimes, taking things slow can be the vibe, and a lot of my favorite games ever are ones like these that are low stress and invite you to come and relax for a while.

10 Best Cozy Games With No Combat

Stress-free often equates to no combat or fighting, which these games offer all pacifist gamers out there.

This is the pocket that Gecko Gods seems to be striving for; the puzzle-platforming-exploration-adventure-type where you're given the time and space to just kind of hangout and tackle objectives as you please. And of course, this one also features our cute, chirping gecko hero to hang out with too.

While this sort of thing is usually quite up my alley, and I love an indie title from a small team that I can help champion, I don't think Gecko Gods is there yet. A four or five-hour-long journey with the game felt, at times, both too long, and also with not enough content to make the stay on the islands worth it in the end, especially thanks to some bugs and glitches. Go check your car insurance quotes (obligatory gecko joke), then read on for more lizardy details.

A Calming, Peaceful World

There's no denying that Gecko Gods is a pretty game to take in. The cel-shaded-style of artwork works really well here, and despite some forgivable pop-in here and there, it really is a beautiful game to look at. It all takes place on a series of islands, each inhabited by a collection of bugs, birds, and some alien-like creatures living in pots, plants, and crab shells.

While this sort of thing is usually quite up my alley, and I love an indie title from a small team that I can help champion, I don't think Gecko Gods is there yet.

There is a narrative, which begins with a very adorably hand-drawn-looking cutscene of our gecko character getting distracted by a butterfly, falling into the ocean, and washing ashore on the island where we eventually take control. Story-wise, it's a little weird that the game then goes in the direction of "All geckos are gone, awaken the Gecko Gods to bring them back" since we literally just saw many others in the opening cutscene, but it's all good.

There's some environmental storytelling in the form of cave drawings, as well as some chatty birds and mystical signs along the way that give you some more lore and information. It kind of builds a sort of Journey-like vibe in this way, but it also never really goes anywhere aside from giving you an objective to beat the game.

The soundscape and music are additional highlights, some songs chill and relaxing, and others, like the upbeat tune that kicks in when you steer your sailboat, exciting and energizing. I had a couple of moments where I didn't think the music matched the on-screen action at all, or random sound effects would seemingly just happen out of nowhere, but none of this was too prevalent, nor problematic.

All of these factors serve as Gecko Gods' strongest aspects, as the tone and execution of the game's locations, from tropical beaches to sandy deserts, really are well-realized in general. There's also a sense of scale here that I was initially quite impressed by, as Gecko Gods quickly seemed to be that open-ended type of adventure where you're given a set of goals, then just kind of sent off to complete as you please, not unlike the feeling of a Breath of the Wild in that way, though of course, not the same type of game in many regards.

Feeling a Little Empty

Once unleashed from the tutorial area of the game and left to your own devices, however, I soon started to bump into some head-scratching moments in Gecko Gods. Not because the game's puzzles were overly confusing or challenging, but more because I started to become a little disappointed with the execution of everything in general.

The game's platforming feels extremely floaty, and also pretty imprecise both while jumping and as your gecko wraps around climbable objects, which made the handful of "jump through the ring" challenges pretty underwhelming. Likewise, sailing on your boat is cool at first, but soon becomes a bit tedious and slow as a means to traverse the map. There are also "sail through the ring" boating challenges, but since controlling the boat isn't actually that thrilling at all, these are pretty dull too.

There are quite a few varieties of puzzles within the game, which I do appreciate in terms of trying to keep things fresh, whether navigating a large, underground dungeon, or solving smaller-scale areas above ground in order to collect an optional relic that doesn't actually do anything for you, but is something to check off in the game's collectible tracker (also featuring different bugs to eat on each island).

There are puzzles to turn mirrors to guide a beam of light across the desert. Others where you move panels in a 3x3 grid to form a design. Levers to pull or spin to align ropes in a certain direction/configuration. Magnetic balls to roll up walls to reach a goal to open your next gate forward. Areas where you need to jump into five different bells to trigger another means of progression. All of these are okay ideas, but none are actually that interesting or fun in practice in Gecko Gods.

And in fact, some just don't feel good at all to complete. The instances where you're rolling a ball to a goal feel very imprecise, with the angle and force your gecko is headbutting the ball not translating to the direction it actually moves. The 3x3 panel puzzles have repeated solutions, so once you've done one, you already know how to do the next one. Anything involving a lever to turn or a mirror to direct kind of just feels either mindless, or like trial and error till the next thing triggers to keep you moving along.

It's too bad. I think there are good ideas here, but when most of the game is made up of these little puzzle challenges, and the majority either feel bad to control or just aren't fun, Gecko Gods can start to kind of weigh on you despite the charm and cozy feelings.

A Bit More Incubation Needed

Core gameplay loop of the game aside, I also very unfortunately bumped into far too many glitches, bugs, and other technical hiccups ranging from things you can easily shrug off, to ways I wasn't able to really trust the game anymore. I had two instances where I couldn't figure out a puzzle, only to find out the game didn't load all of the required aspect of it properly, so it was literally impossible in the form it was presented to me.

Things like this could be corrected by quitting out and loading back in, but once that happens a couple of times, the damage is unfortunately done. In a game so dependent on puzzles, the whole thing becomes soured when you're no longer sure if you simply can't figure out a solution, or the game just physically didn't load the section properly again. This is a borderline impossible place to play a video game from.

Best Cozy Games with Lots of Collectibles Feature

12 Best Cozy Games with Lots of Collectibles

Cozy games are great, but cozy games with endless things to collect? Even better. From feathers to fish, these are the ultimate collection-heavy games

The game's camera is also very unruly as you climb up walls, ceilings, nooks, and crannies, but that's unfortunately how the game also wants you to play as a gecko that can climb any surface. The camera will get stuck on tons of surfaces, as well as zoom in and out rapidly in certain instances. Because of this (and I'm genuinely not a motion-sick gamer ever), Gecko Gods kind of made me feel a little seasick at times.

Things get compounded upon when your gecko's movement inputs stop making sense in your brain as he moves from wall to ceiling. There's also a thing where your gecko will simply fall from a ceiling if you move your camera in the wrong direction, which very quickly becomes a major pain point as climbing in the game becomes more and more of a thing.

I think there are good ideas here, but when most of the game is made up of these little puzzle challenges, and the majority either feel bad to control or just aren't fun, Gecko Gods can start to kind of weigh on you despite the charm and cozy feelings.

The game would stutter out of loading screens pretty badly. Camera shots would linger way too long at the end of a cutscene to the point that you'd think it froze. Levers needed to stay in precise spots for puzzles would move on their own for no reason. Certain puzzles wouldn't line up properly without resetting the game. Some objectives wouldn't clear from the quest log once completed. I clipped through many walls and surfaces, resulting in being totally stuck and needing to reload.

There are a few ways in which I could go on, but I think you're probably starting to get the point here. And to be abundantly fair and clear, some of these have already been worked on in a patch that the team pushed in the middle of the review process. This patch did fix one puzzle I was stuck on and introduced a couple of new quality of life improvements I was thankful for, but the vast majority of the above is still happening for me regularly in the game, even post-patch.

Heart that Still Shines Through

It's really challenging to review a game with all of the above issues, but also one that you know is built by a small, passionate indie team that has more than likely poured so much of their lives into a title. I don't take this lightly, but I would also be remiss if I didn't accurately relay the experience I had with the game. After all, I can only review what I played, of course.

That said, it's nice to see that the devs are still diligently working on getting Gecko Gods in better shape, and I'm hopeful that the game you play after another patch or two is an improved version over what I worked with. That said, even aside from the bad collection of bugs I had, once those do get patched out, I'd still say Gecko Gods leaves a bit too much to be desired in terms of moment to moment gameplay, puzzles, platforming, etc.

What that doesn't change is the fact that I really could feel during my time with the game, issues and all, that this is a cared for title, and a team that has good ideas and potential. I wish them the best as they work to get Gecko Gods in the best shape it can be, and also on whatever comes next someday.

In the meantime, Gecko Gods is a cute idea and one that I think can grow into something fun and rewarding. I just very unfortunately don't think it's there yet.

I'm sad that Gecko Gods didn't ultimately resonate much with me. It's a game with clear indie charm and care poured into it, but also one that never clicks in terms of puzzles, platforming, or exploration. The presentation is nice, but it's also held back by many technical hiccups, both cosmetic and core progression-based alike. The devs do seem eager to keep improving this one, but it unfortunately wasn't quite ready for release.