So what can I say at this point?
First the boring things:
The game works fine on Linux, and it is made using the Unity engine, which
of course expects you to have a more or less recent computer to play with.
It is a tile based Platformer with some usual Platformer elements
(wall jumping, jumping on enemies to kill them, pits of death, etc)
as well as the feature that gives the game its name: Boxes.
Boxes:
Spread across the level are cardboard boxes in different variations.
The simplest of which just allows you to double jump once (the box
drops down when doing that). Another kind of box is one that allows
you to double jump, but explodes 3 seconds after making the second jump,
which breaks walls, as well as you, if you happen to be standing in the
wrong spot.
Then there is the motorcycle box... which makes you go fast. When you go
into one direction for an extended period of time, you reach the border
of the screen, and can't see what's ahead. Compare this with Defender or
the Battletoads speed bike stage, where you are locked to the left side
while going right so you can actually see what's ahead. Given, the stage
where you get it is not very dangerous (World 1, Level 25), but you don't
know that until you've played through it, so instead of enjoying the ride,
you awkwardly jiggle back and forth with the motorcycle box, hoping that
you can see what you go over before actually going over. I don't know
if you get it again later on because I am not yet that far into the game.
Controls:
Of course, what makes or breaks a Platformer are the controls, and for
the most part, they are fine. The levels are designed around the fact
that you will always jump at the same height regardless how long you
pressed the jump button. You jump the same while standing still as you
do when walking, and acceleration as well as deceleration when starting
or stopping to walk are reasonably quick that it feels precise.
Level design:
The levels are usually designed so that a box acts like a key that
allows you to make a particular jump or break a particular wall, so
when you approach the obstacle in question, you see what box you need
and have to go find it, however sometimes, you are just given a box and
are expected to hold on to it until you need it, which sometimes results
in a soft lock situation, because you wasted a box somewhere earlier in
a level. These situations can usually be escaped by suicide.
Also, I try to hold on to a box in the situation where I was supposed
to use it, just because I am worried I might need it later.
Occasionally, a level might have a jump in it that has rage game levels
of difficulty, like one particular jump in World 1, Level 6, where I died
72 times before finally beating the level. I might be particularly
bad at platforming, but this turned out to be the most difficult jump
of the first world for me and turned me off of playing for a while,
because after the first 50 attempts, I thought "well I didn't want to
play THAT kind of game...". As it is this early in the game, I assume
that the difficulty here was unintentional. Later in World 1, (Level
22) there is another fairly difficult jump, but here it is clear it is
supposed to be difficult. It is right at the beginning of the level,
so you don't lose much by failing, and you have to perform it twice,
only if you want to get the third crown. After having tried to get
the crown a few times, I settled for two crowns and died 33 times here.
A lot, but it doesn't compare to Level 6.
In World 2, Level 4, there is a leap of faith involved, which personally
I am not a fan of.
Enemies:
The enemies are cannons (placed in boxes) which fire balls of yarn,
boxes with red eyes walking, back and forth (some can be jumped on,
and some have spikes on top, so you can only crush them under boxes),
and boxes with rotors on top, hovering up and down, and finally, spikes
on the ground and pits of death (there may be more later in the game).
These enemies are skinned differently from world to world, and in World
2, I found it difficult to distinguish between the spiked walking boxes
and the normal walking boxes, so quite a few times I jumped at one and
unexpectedly died.
Overall:
It looks very adorable and for the most part plays fairly well. However,
as jumping and running are binary (one height, one speed), it feels
a bit simplistic, until you reach the wall jumping stages of World 2,
where I first really enjoyed jumping through the levels. The music fits
the theme of the game and the animation is reasonably well done.
Overall, it is a solid game with some flaws, which for 3€ is absolutely
fine to me.
