Dark Sheep

[b]april 2022 edit:[/b] 30 new levels as paid dlc and the base game's price got increased as well. [b]september 2021 edit:[/b] unlimited undo and better movement got patched in, so I flipped the review to a recommendation. sokoban is not something I ever look forward to, but [b]dark sheep[/b] has animals that aren't cats and commodore 64 aesthetics (the best home computer ever), plus some horror vibes, so I had to take a closer look. the game starts innocent enough, just trapping some random sheep, though the cloak is definitely something to be suspicious about, as is the ritual for which you're gathering the sheep. there are [b]60 levels[/b] in 5 chapters (20 got added after release), unlocked one by one, and each chapter introduces some new mechanics, but it's mostly the standard sokoban fare. white sheep can only move on fresh grass and they have to eat all of it, while black ones don't eat grass, only whatever the red thing is. later there are bridges that disappear after stepping on them once, etc. the [b]aftermath[/b] levels only unlock after finishing the original campaign, of course, and [b]30 additional levels are available in the form of a $1 dlc[/b]. each level has a par but you can go over without repercussions and [b]level skip is an option[/b] too. initially you couldn't skip two in a row, but now all of them can be skipped if you want, except the last one. and I love that [b]you can interact with some of the things[/b], like the house on level 3 or a guy later. while the mouse works in menus, it can't be used for movement, so it's basically [b]keyboard-only[/b], but everything is rebindable. arrows or whatever you set up work fine for movement and backspace is the default for [b]unlimited undo[/b]. used to be just the one move to take back, not anymore, and the same patch introduced the ability to hold movement keys and move faster, both hugely improving the experience. really good presentation if you've ever owned a c64 or like retro stuff, and we have separate volume settings, windowed mode, resolutions, in-game representation of achievements, scoreboard for the best attempts, toggles for crt mode, particles and text display sounds, and hud customization to show/hide various buttons, the move counter and the level number. settings are available while playing as well. with the latest quality of life improvements it's [b]easily recommendable for sokoban enthusiasts and people bent on killing sheep for the greater good[/b] (or bad).

This is a well-made, if short and simple, puzzle game, that pays homage to the commodore 64 era of games in its visuals, sound, and mechanics. It's simple narrative is delivered concisely with plenty of humor, while still maintaining the focus on it's increasingly complex and challenging puzzles. The visuals are charming, and not bogged down or complicated with unnecessary effects, it's simple and cute, and faithful to the era it seeks to emulate. Nothing was ever confusing or hard to understand, and the visuals effectively communicate tone and humor when it's intended. The music and soundscape is similarly charming and era-focused. Often this makes for short, catchy loops of beeps and boops, but there are also a few misses, where the faithfully bit-crushed musical flourishes were actually kind of uncomfortable to listen to, and even distracting. I muted the audio more than once while struggling with a puzzle so I could think more clearly. And the puzzles require plenty of focus. The mechanics present in Dark Sheep are time-tested, and implemented well here. I found myself staring at the screen in frustrated contemplation, trying to work paths and solutions out in my head. The puzzles are challenging, and satisfying to complete. Mechanically my only complaint would be that there is an undo function, but it only goes back a single move. I rarely found a situation where that was useful, but routinely found myself wishing i could undo the last 5 or 6 moves. This is especially frustrating in some of the very long puzzles, where a mistake 10 moves ago is the only thing stopping completion, but because there's no way to go back that far, I had to restart the entire puzzle and redo 100 something moves, which occasionally created new errors as I rushed to remember and re-perform that part of the puzzle. Having to restart a puzzle near the end several times over is pretty frustrating, and seems like it could be easy to avoid with a tweak of the undo function. BUT, the game also features a level skip option in the pause menu, for anyone who wants to move on instead of bashing their head against the wall of some of the most convoluted and time-consuming levels. All things considered, this is an incredibly competent puzzle game with a charming and silly story, and I really enjoyed my time with it.

great game that makes you think about the next move, with an amazing soundtrack and hard levels it will give you some good 2 hours of gameplay

Dark sheep is an interesting experience, in which references to satanism, violence, horror and retro gaming all seem to match together in oddly well manner. I do like puzzles, but I don't like repetitive gameplay. Hopefully, Dark sheep's puzzles change over the levels and there is also a loose story that you follow through. You will play to the next level to see what else can happen. The simple elements and story leaves a lot for the imagination and different interpretations what this game really is about. There are many levels in different chapters, and the learning curve is mostly balanced. I did find that the music was for my taste, but there are plenty of options in which you can configure the game to suit your needs. I also very much liked that you can play the game in small bits: finish one level, and continue on the next one later on. The controls and gameplay are flawless: there are shotcuts to different options and I did not encounter a single bug so far. This game will take you to the evil side. You will do evil acts and by the end of the game you will have a lot of innocent blood on your hands. In my interpretation (SPOILER WARNING) this game has a message about following orders / herd mentality and I think the best ending to the story would had been to just leave the sheep alone. I did feel bad about playing the game, and I think the intention of this game is to shock the player.

Ugh, hate to be "that guy", but this game is pretty lackluster. The puzzles are basically linepathing, but with the tedium of pushing one block at a time (rather than tracing with a mouse). There's a scoreboard for each level with how few moves it took to finish, but there's hardly any motivation to optimize your routes when the moveset is regularly in the 200-300 range. There's not many puzzles that have the "one true solution" when there's dozens of ways to tackle each level, which means you can often stumble into the solution on your first guess, which isn't very rewarding. However, in solving some of the more Gordian knotted levels, you'll have one oversight which will be making you ask yourself, "Should I hit 'undo' 80 times to get back to that one point or just restart the level?" If you've got time to kill, it'll do. But if you're looking for a better version of the same concept, check out Linelith or Cardinal Chains.

Really fun puzzle game that got my brain firing on all cylinders

Awesome game, you feel so smart when you beat levels. And there's new mechanics introduced a lot so it never gets old.

Don't let the rough visuals fool you, this is a highly polished Puzzler exploiting various Sokoban-like mechanics, some of which I've never seen before (wait until you reach Chapter 6). The whimsical Story with it's morbid undertones does it's part to keep you engaged, difficulty is slightly higher than DARK CRYPT by the same Studio. Recommended!

After beating every level with the best move count as an extra challenge, I recommend the game for fans of Puzzle games, Dark and ambiguous stories and Old computer aesthetics. Starting as a simple puzzle game, the gameplay keeps getting some twists every few levels, which will change the way you think and play. The one thing I know after playing for almost 6 hours is that I wished there were more. The story is nicely done, and surprisingly, you engage in it during the game. Will you get your moneys worth? Absolutely, I will give extra points for the developer supporting the game after launch, and caring about player feedback.

Fun take on sokoban.