Endure The Swarm

[b]7/10[/b] The Swarm is coming for you, can you build a fort out of your environment to stay safe? [b]What is it:[/b] A take on the Sokoban genre, where you have to move furniture around until you have a complete separation between you and the swarm. Unlike a pure Sokoban, where all the boxes are equal, the mechanics are all the same, and you can spend as much time (moves) as you want to put boxes in the right place, this game manages to cram so many new things in the gameplay through [b]good immersion[/b] in the story/environment. Different objects accept different movements: medium boxes can be pushed forward, pulled back, and even slid sideways; cars can only be rolled in one direction; heavy safes can only be pushed; tables are good for blocking a door, but not a window, and so on. Sometimes you can fortify yourself in a whole house, sometimes you have to find one room to lock yourself in, and sometimes you're in a parking lot with only cars to surround yourself with. And while I don't like when games require finding the shortest solution, the impending swarm isn't just an artificial move counter, but an extra element actively involved in your solution: first barricade that door closest to the swarm, which will give you more time to work on the rest of the solution; or, have an idea for a nice fort, but the swarm gets you before you can build it, should you look for a faster way to build it, or look for a different place to build a fort? Besides the puzzle mechanics, the game is decently made in general, but a bit too short. Nice graphics, a bit of a story, minimal but nice and fitting music, works well on the Steam Deck, basic progress achievements, cloud saves, undo/restart/level select, different resolutions, fullscreen/windowed, volume settings. The developers are quick to fix bugs. [b]How hard is it:[/b] Easy to Moderate. [b]How long is it:[/b] 53 levels for about 2-3 hours of playing. [b]Level design:[/b] Decent, but none impressed me. The game doesn't seem repetitive, and the solutions are usually not obvious. However, none of the levels was a real thinker. I might be spoiled by Hiding Spot and its clever use of furniture, but the vast majority of the levels I just instinctively solved just by pushing stuff around; maybe a handful gave me pause to actually analyze and think up a solution. Also, plenty of times I found a solution before the swarm even emerged, which makes me wonder if it was an unintended solution or the level is intentionally relaxed. [b]Quality:[/b] Good! [b]Worth the price:[/b] Maybe, for 2 hours of gameplay I wouldn't normally pay more than 5$, but if more levels are added I'd be fine with the current price. [b]Most positive aspect for me:[/b] Immersive puzzle mechanics that lead to good puzzles. [b]Most negative aspect for me:[/b] Too short and easy. [b]What would make it better:[/b] The game has a lot of potential, and puzzle games are defined by their puzzles, right? Expand it to at least 100 levels, with much tighter levels that focus on thinking up a clever solution for at least 3-5 minutes. Add more than just basic achievements for coming up with clever solutions to some of the levels. [b]Also consider:[/b] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/950140/Hiding_Spot/?curator_clanid=25928931]Hiding Spot[/url] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1147890/Bonfire_Peaks/?curator_clanid=25928931]Bonfire Peaks[/url] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/721390/Pipe_Push_Paradise/?curator_clanid=25928931]Pipe Push Paradise[/url] [quote]For more puzzle game reviews, news and everything puzzle-related, follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/25928931-Puzzle-Lovers/]Puzzle Lovers[/url] and check out our [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/puzzlelovers]Steam group[/url].[/quote]

It's a little Sokoban-style puzzle game where you have to lock yourself in to avoid getting eaten. I did not have much faith in it because of its one visible weakness, which is the rather generic asset store graphics. However, apart from that, it is great, mainly because the level design varies between easy and challenging without burning your brain. The number of levels also gives it the right length, about two hours, making it neither too short nor too long. Last but not least, it has a story, so to speak. At the beginning of each level, the character says a few lines, and it concludes with an ending that left me speechless and rewards the effort in a rare way. Two thumbs up for this modest game. [quote] [i] Follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44959158-Critiques-Sans-Frontiers/] our curator page [/url] to discover more games that deserve attention. [/i] [/quote]

It is always interesting to see the kinds of variants Sokoban-based puzzle games can come up with. Endure the Swarm is quite amusing in its design. The game world has been invaded by swarms of spiders, and the goal of each level is for the protagonist to successfully build a barricade around himself using the furniture available in the level before being overrun by the swarm. Each level also starts with the narrators voice commenting on various types of furniture, sharing random thoughts about real estate and some of his past memories. The whole thing was quite funny to listen to. We could have done without having to listen to the completely out-of-tune singing voice in the ending sequence, but maybe it was intentional. Overall, it was short but quite a fun game to play.

A really fun puzzle game with a lot of charm and very little filler or fluff. It has some interesting things to say without meandering around. I had a lot of fun with this game and highly recommend it! For reference, I finished the game on Itch and it took about 2 hours in total.

La canción del final es la cosa más horrenda que he oído en mi vida. 10/10

[h1]Review[/h1] Endure The Swarm is an Indie Dev's first step into the world of Game Development. A deceptively simple puzzle game of great passion, the game delivered extraordinarily well on its vision. A core philosophy of "stop them from getting to me" is consistent throughout the game, although the intro level may confuse some if you don't pick up on this detail immediately. Just block the doorways and windows with the boxes at the start and everything should go fine! [h2]itemized[/h2] [list] [*][h3]Graphics[/h3] Low poly and simple. The spider swarms were a little odd looking at times but conveyed what they were about very effectively. [*][h3]Environments[/h3] Oddly varied and detailed given the mechanical focus for the game. [*][h3]Controls[/h3] The WASD movement is fine and standard, but turning using Q and R felt odd and I didn't really realize I could do it until halfway through the game. [*][h3]Mechanics[/h3] Very simple and straightforward pushing/pulling mechanic that moves with your character. Make sure you're facing the right way when you press enter to interact. It was extraordinarily well polished for the first time out the gate and I was genuinely impressed by it. [*][h3]Story[/h3] Deeply personal non-sequiturs greet you at nearly every level. The story started very strong and towards the middle teetered a bit, the finale of the story cut to the heart of this personal story with an absolutely incredibly well animated and directed ending cinematic. [/list]

This is a little piece of art if you ask me. It's quite short but the atmosphere is very satisfying. I preferred playing it on Steam Deck.

Swarm! Swarm!

Puzzle difficulty is well balanced, and the feel of the game is both pleasant and laid back.

Fun little game - recommend picking up for £1 like i did when it goes on sale, as I completed in just under 2 hours.