Upon release, critics declared "Plok!" the best Nintendo release of 1993 as well as another classic by the company, the best platform game of the year, and one of the all-time best in the genre. However, "Plok!" was compared to many other games of its kind, and even the most favorable reviewers expressed skepticism about playing another average colorful cutesy platform game. Some critics ultimately thought it was and criticized its lack of depth. A frequent comparison was with "Sonic the Hedgehog" (1991), particularly in its "sugary" tone and Plok's speed ball attack; "GameStar"s FI derogatorily labeled the titular character as "a puny version" of the Sega franchise's blue hedgehog, criticizing his weird design and calling it names such as "hot pink reddy coloured duck penguin thing" and "freaky pork chop."