Steam Bundle

Mighty Hints Toward AS3 Steam Release 💥💨

Gentle Dolphin

After two weeks of island-based riddles, the Pop Creators dropped the thirteenth and final clue for Poptropica’s upcoming Steam bundle! (Visit past hints: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)

“Piece together the powers of one mighty hero to defeat this island’s storied villain. But first, you’ll have to play your cards right.”

The island that best fits this description is the episodic epic of PoptropiCon. In Episode 2: Spoiler Alert, the player partakes in the popular Mighty Action Force card game (“play your cards right”). Then, in Episode 3: Reign of Omegon, the player collects the three Mighty Action Force weapons and becomes Alphaon (“mighty hero”) in order to defeat Omegon (“storied villain”).

Now that all of the hints have been given, here are our final guesses for which islands will be featured in this upcoming Steam bundle:

  1. Survival (hint here)
  2. Mythology – classic version (hint here)
  3. Galactic Hot Dogs (hint here)
  4. Mission Atlantis (hint here)
  5. Shrink Ray (hint here)
  6. Poptropolis Games (hint here)
  7. Arabian Nights (hint here)
  8. Time Tangled (hint here)
  9. Monster Carnival – with a twist! (hint here)
  10. Mystery of the Map (hint here)
  11. Virus Hunter (hint here)
  12. Mocktropica (hint here)
  13. PoptropiCon (scroll up!)

Looking at everything so far, our theory about the Steam bundle only including AS3 islands may be true after all. While it’s nice that these islands will be preserved in the upcoming bundle, it’s disappointing that older classics like Astro-Knights and Skullduggery are yet again pushed to the backburner. Maybe they’ll be accessible in a future DLC expansion? Only time will tell.

Now that the hint parade is over, all we can do is wait for news about pricing and release dates. The official Pop Twitter account stated that we should be getting more info within the next 1-2 weeks, so be on the lookout for that!

UPDATE: Yet another tweet indicates that the upcoming Steam islands may be available for Mac. The wording is a bit odd, as it seems to point toward Steam in general rather than Poptropica’s bundle specifically, but we’ll see! 🤞 If it’s true, that makes it more accessible than the Windows-only Flashpoint unofficial access for old Pop islands.

By the way, happy Earth Day from Poptropica! 🌳 You might recall this Twisted Thicket postcard from last year, but sadly, it doesn’t look like this classic island will be among those returning soon.

Anyway, which islands do you think will be present in this Steam bundle? Which islands do you hope make a return in the future? Leave a comment down below!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Islands, Mocktropica Island, Social Media, Steam Bundle, Uncategorized

Mega hints for a mocking island

Agent Bubbles

‘Allo Poptropicans! We’ve arrived at the penultimate point of the Steam island hints! (Visit past hints: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.)

Here’s hint twelve: “Devise a plan to reverse a mega bot-ched op. Virtually everything is on the line!”

We’ve got a good hunch on this one, although the Creators’ Blog hints that this could “be applied to two other islands.” Besides the seemingly obvious, we might venture a guess for PoptropiCon, with its hench-bots serving the robo-suited Omegon, or Game Show, where we’ve got to reverse a robot domination.

However, the Mega Fighting Bots reference (“Mega Bot-ched”) points us right in the direction of Mocktropica, once again an AS3 island.

…wait. Mocktropica?

How A Bot That: Nobody told these guys about Asimov’s three laws of robotics.

While a cult classic, Mocktropica has become notorious for its unintentional prediction of what Pop was soon to become. Many aspects of the story take a jab at the obsession with surface-level gaming gimmicks like costumes and pets, as well as removing any challenging elements.

Adding on references to former Pop Creators who had been let go by management, this island may be an odd (albeit welcome) addition to the pack. At least we can enjoy the pretty musical theme in-game again!

“Max McPatrick” was based on then-Pop Creator Mitch Krpata.
Strap In: Concussion prevention starts with sensible headgear.

What do you think about the current Pop reviving this past island? Do you have ideas for other islands that could fit this riddle? Let us know, while I sulk in the corner about the Astro-Knights neglect!

Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles

Steam Bundle

Eh-Steamed Hints of the Eleventh Hour 🕚

Slanted Fish

We’re nearing the eleventh hour of the Steam island hints, and the eleventh hint is upon us! (Visit past hints here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.) 

“You must resist a biteless bug that few can see or wait some time for reality.” Will you take the bait, or wait for an answer?

Among the fandom’s guesses, two popular candidates stand out as strong possibilities: Virus Hunter or Mocktropica. The “biteless bug” could be a virus or computer bug, while waiting for “reality” could refer to situations that emerged since the islands’ first releases: the Covid-19 global pandemic or Poptropica’s pivots towards gaming gimmicks. (But would the Creators be so bold as to put the latter out there?)

Fighting viruses gets my blood pumping.
I kicked their bots.

However, we previously guessed both of these in hint #8! If it’s not one, it could be the other, which balances things out on both ends. Still, the vagueness of hint #8 also leaves room for other possibilities.

One option posited by Tough Spinner is PoptropiCon, which also follows the AS3 islands theory. Now that other episodic islands have been hinted at for Steam, PoptropiCon could be one of them — seeing as, following the eighth hint and the events of Episode 3, you solve a “puzzle” to save the Mighty Action Force heroes from Omegon, a “dire fate.”

Unmasked: A costume is good for what’s alien you.

Now that we’ve gotten a lot of guesses going, let’s take a moment to round up what we’ve got so far, if our guesses turn out right:

  1. Survival (hint here)
  2. Mythology – classic version (hint here)
  3. Galactic Hot Dogs (hint here)
  4. Mission Atlantis (hint here)
  5. Shrink Ray (hint here)
  6. Poptropolis Games (hint here)
  7. Arabian Nights (hint here)
  8. Virus Hunter, PoptropiCon, Mocktropica, or older islands (hint here)
  9. Monster Carnival – with a twist! (hint here)
  10. Mystery of the Map (hint here)
  11. Virus Hunter or Mocktropica (scroll up!)

Fans following the AS3 islands theory have been checking off the list, and among those that remain are Monkey Wrench, Reality TV: Wild Safari, and any of the possibilities mentioned for hint #8 that turn out false. Then again, maybe this theory will be debunked at the reveal of the 13 Steam islands later on. Here’s hoping! 🤞

With two hints left to go, we’ll be following along to find out which ones make the cut, and which were just wishful thinking. Stay tuned!

~🐠

Fan Art Features, Steam Bundle, Store

Linking Adventurers & Outfitters 💥🔗

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! After a brief hiatus for the holiday weekend (a belated blessed Easter if you celebrate! 🐇🥚), the Pop Creators are back with the next Steam island clue, store updates, and fan art features.

The tenth hint is an ad with some interesting criteria: “Adventurers Wanted! Must be familiar with: Search & Rescue, Fishing, Explosives, Heavy Lifting, Food service experience a plus.” 🧐

Can you think of an island that ticks off this whole list? Following the AS3 islands theory, Tough Spinner put forth a good case for Mystery of the Map: We “search & rescue” Octavian (or the kids), go “fishing” with a goblet, cause a rockslide with “explosives,” do “heavy lifting” with a big fur coat, and even serve food to hungry Vikings.

Chop to it.

Whether or not this guess is right, we’ll soon find out. (Btw, keep up with past Steam hints here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.) 

In the meantime, we’ve uncovered another interesting detail about the upcoming Steam bundle. According to a Pop Creator’s reply to a comment on the official blog, players will be able to link active Poptropica accounts (as in desktop and mobile) on Steam! This could mean connecting credits, costumes, medallions, and so on. Cool!

Speaking of connecting adventurers with their outfits, the latest rotation at Adventure Outfitters on Home Island has sprung some fresh spring looks. Highlights include the Floral Spring Dress (350 credits), Jetpack (300), Fedora for pets (75), and more…

Rounding off this update, enjoy the latest displays of fan art from Poptropica’s Instagram stories! (Protip: Click the artists’ names to view originals, including animations for the Friday Night Funkin’ post.)

Daisy Skies (Pop OC) by @pinklightningmc
Poptropican Friday Night Funkin’ by @eyestrain_brain
Beep by @eyestrain_brain
Happy birthday, Bard simp by @sylunis_art
Pop requests by @oneofthosenightbees
Amelia and an OC by @nyankokokokokoko

Come back soon for the final few Steam clues, and pop on!

~🐠

Monster Carnival Island, Steam Bundle

Step right up for a secret twist! 🔮

Slanted Fish

Just a few more clues to go as we guess the upcoming 13 Steam islands! (Keep up with past hints here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.) 

The ninth hint has descended upon us like night: “Hidden behind the thrilling fun is a fowl affair. Step right up, if you dare.”

If you know your stuff, this one should be straightforward: our bets are on Monster Carnival! The island (which follows the AS3 theory) introduces you to the carnival (“thrilling fun”), with booths including a weight-guesser who implores you to “Step right up.” But as we soon learn, something’s not quite right: “hidden behind” the monstrosities is the bird-like Ringmaster Raven (“fowl affair”). 🎡🐦

pic: Thinknoodles

But note the caption of the hint post: there’s going to be a “secret twist” with this return! And based on past fandom chatter, we have an inkling of what that could entail.

Ringmaster Raven’s portrayal has been critiqued for playing into ugly stereotypes (including anti-Semitism and slavery), and he is given disproportionately unfair treatment when he is turned into a chicken to be a laughingstock by the townsfolk (who bullied him as a child and never repented). Here’s a fan video that covers the discourse:

Back in 2020, the PHB hosted a Q&A with Poptropica’s CEO Abhi Arya, where we asked how Poptropica might address the Monster Carnival critiques. In response, he shared:

I totally get it. This is definitely one of those instances where you know the intent doesn’t align with the issue and you have to ask, “How was this affected by implicit bias?” We’re actually auditing all the islands for this reason and have already revised Monster Carnival for its conversion to Haxe. I appreciate that players bring this to our attention. It’s the only way we can all collectively move forward in the right direction.

Abhi Arya, Q&A with the Poptropica CEO

It’s been a while since that Q&A and we haven’t seen Monster Carnival return to Haxe, but it looks like we’ll be seeing it soon on Steam. Perhaps this time around, we’ll be getting a new look, character arc, and/or better ending for Raven, and maybe the townsfolk as well. We’ll see! 🤞

~🐠