Mooselutions

[b]8/10[/b] Is herding moose harder than herding cats? Find out in this game! [b]What is it:[/b] A turn-based, grid-based sokoban-like puzzler, in which you have to enrage and dodge silly moose until they all end up on one of the designated target spots. Although there are also boxes that can be pushed like in a classic sokoban, the main part of the gameplay is goading moose into rushing headlong until they hit something. As soon as they see you in their line of sight, they get enraged and will rush ahead on the next turn. Don't let them trample you, or you'll die. Other elements are unbreakable boxes, breakable boxes, rail wagons that can carry a moose along tracks, and after you manage to place all the moose on the target spots, you need to reach the exit without being spotted. [b]How hard is it:[/b] Moderate to hard. Almost all levels require thinking up a solution, I rarely played it on autopilot. [b]How long is it:[/b] 49 levels, hard enough to keep one occupied for 4-8 hours. No level skipping, but the levels are on a branching map, so it's possible to get to the end without tackling the really hard levels. [b]Level design:[/b] Excellent. Each level presents a unique challenge, teaching something new about the game mechanics, all while keeping things simple. Most of the levels I went through: This is obvious! Oh wait, this doesn't actually work because X. This is impossible! But what if... Oh, this is going somewhere, but I still need to... Aha! [b]Quality:[/b] Excellent level design, mechanics that make sense, decent graphics, progress achievements, cloud saves, unlimited undo. Could use a "show grid" feature. Controls are decent, but not configurable. [b]Worth the price:[/b] Yes. [b]Most positive aspect for me:[/b] Superb puzzle design with few simple mechanics. [b]Most negative aspect for me:[/b] It was over too soon. [b]Also consider:[/b] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2323660/Headlong_Hunt/?curator_clanid=25928931]Headlong Hunt[/url], similar but the creature runs away from, not toward you. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1409180/Of_Mice_and_Moggies/?curator_clanid=25928931]Of Mice and Moggies[/url], hard sokoban-like hunting with different kinds of creatures. [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]

Just finished the game! Oh boy what a roller coaster of "this is an impossible level, must be a bug, I'm missing a box, or that tree shouldn't be there" followed by " oh...I got it, found the solution!". Great puzzle game! At first glance the solution seems easy, but there is always something in the way, Like playing chess with someone way better than you. I would love to see a video about the thought process of designing levels, they are well thought! Thanks Ted for a great roller coaster of emotions! Ps: Please add sound controls, I do puzzles while listening podcasts or music, and there is no way to control sound in game. The sound is good but I just want the option to control it. Thanks 10/10

《Mooselutions》是一款很有意思的类推箱解谜游戏。 由于本作貌似是开发者的处女作，所以画面等方面看起来相对简陋一些，但是相信有了《SquishCraft》这种前车之鉴之后，大家都知道不能以貌取游戏了。解谜游戏的机制和谜题是最重要的，而画面只需要清晰即可，所以我就尝试了一下本作。 本作是一个网格式的解谜游戏，核心机制是一头头驼鹿（Moose，标题就是由这个词和Solutions结合而来）。玩家操控的主角如果踏进一头驼鹿的视线范围，那么驼鹿会立刻进入愤怒状态，在一回合后，驼鹿就会朝它前方迅速冲撞，如果主角没有在此时离开驼鹿的视线，就会被一头撞死。就算躲开了，驼鹿也会一直冲撞直到撞到墙之类的其它物体。玩家要做的就是利用驼鹿的这个简单的AI，巧妙地规划什么时候该躲避或遮挡驼鹿的视线，什么时候又应该刻意激怒它们，让它们按玩家自己想的方式移动。 看起来挺有《Headlong Hunt》的感觉，只不过那款游戏中的生物是朝人的反向跑，本作中的驼鹿是冲着人跑；《Bean and Nothingness》中的一种怪物的运作方式和本作也很像，只不过那款游戏中的那个怪物是以每回合走一格的方式冲撞，而本作中的驼鹿则是在一回合内一步到位。就算不一定是以“生物”的方式呈现，我印象中也有几个解谜游戏是以直线的“视线控制”为核心的。 （说句题外话，我觉得早晚得给这些以“操纵生物”为核心机制的解谜游戏起个名字，因为它们已经不能算“箱子”了，也就是说玩家基本上已经不是用“推”的方式来和它们交互了，所以叫“类推箱”好像不是太妥，不过现在我还没想出来有什么好名字。） 所以我想说的是，可以从很多游戏里看到本作这种核心机制的影子，那本作的创新点在哪里呢？这就要说一说本作机制设计的一些细节了。 第一个细节，也是我认为最重要的细节，那就是驼鹿的视线方向只有一个。之前提到的两款游戏中的类似生物，它们的视线范围都是上下左右四个方向的直线，而驼鹿是有自己的朝向的，它只能看到自己朝向的方向的一条直线，而不能看到自己身侧和身后。虽然驼鹿看到的范围更小了，看上去是一个纯粹的弱化，但我们要想这个设计引入了什么，没错，就是“朝向”的问题。 在驼鹿每次冲撞后，它自己的方向并不会改变，但驼鹿还是有办法改变自己的方向的：在被其它驼鹿冲撞之后，当前驼鹿就会转向冲撞者朝向的方向。转向不仅意味着方向的改变，同时也意味着视线范围的改变，比如有时我们想让一头驼鹿转向，不一定是为了想让它走，而只是想改变它的视线范围，以供通过。这个设计同时还巧妙地将“转向”这一种重要的操作和驼鹿之间的交互——接下来要说的另一个本作中的重要设计——联系了起来。 那么就说到另一个独特的细节——驼鹿之间的交互。上面说了其中的一种情况，但事实上，当一头驼鹿冲向另一头驼鹿时，驼鹿的反应一共有[b]三种[/b]不同的情况，取决于被冲撞的驼鹿的朝向。没错，又是朝向，所以朝向在这个游戏里绝对是处于核心地位的。具体每种情况是怎么样的，在这里就不剧透了，很有意思。 上面这些细节就是本作如此简单的一个“冲撞生物”的机制，实际上能产生出奇妙的复杂性的原因。不是每个游戏都能开发出一些前无古人的神奇机制，像这种将微妙的细节上的小区别发挥到极致的设计，在我看来也是非常值得夸赞的。 本作在上面的核心机制外，也加入了多种其它关卡要素，比如可以推的箱子，可以用来阻挡驼鹿的视线，这也是很正常的一种延伸。而最独特的应该是占据了游戏整个后半部分的“矿车”机制，玩家可以沿着轨道推动矿车，还可以将驼鹿“装”在矿车上一起推动。这其中同样包含一些朝向相关的细节，在这里就不详细解释了，总之是再一次印证了“朝向是本作的核心”的这一个论点。 本作共有49道谜题，设计紧凑，关键矛盾清晰，解法鲜明且有趣。大多数谜题难度比较简单，本人花1分钟到2分钟就能解决，而也有个别相对困难，能让我思考10分钟到半小时的谜题，总体来说难度曲线较为平滑，整体难度适中。 有时，谜题中箱子、驼鹿等各种各样的要素数量较多，在一些做得比较次的类推箱游戏当中，这种谜题基本上就是“挪移地狱”，只能用试错来走一个状态转移的迷宫，但本作的谜题则恰恰由于上述的设计，都很有推理的空间，很少需要试错。举个例子，玩家先推理出如果要过关，一头驼鹿必须在某处转向，那根据上面所说的设计，我们可以将思路很快确定到“让另一头驼鹿冲撞它”等几种特殊情况上，然后再根据具体情况进一步往前分析即可。所以本作中的大多数谜题都不仅有一条清晰的解题思路，而且还是一条可以完全用逻辑推理找到的解题思路，就算这在客观上不一定是“最好”的设计，它也是我最喜欢的设计。 总的来说，作为开发者的解谜处女作，本作谜题设计水平惊人。除了UI上可能有一些比较奇怪的地方（比如在本文发出前已经修改了的，从关卡菜单中不能退出到选关画面的问题），但这些方面只要多吸收玩家的反馈，积累经验，应该就不会再犯，届时，优秀的谜题设计水平就会让本作的设计师真正前途无量。 结论：[b]强烈推荐[/b]。 [quote]普通玩家一枚，不玩主流网游，少玩3A大作，关注独立精品。不是为了特立独行，只是为了追求自我。 喜欢我的评测？可以关注我的鉴赏家：[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44752532-%25E8%2580%2581%25E8%2588%25B9%25E9%2595%25BFOldCaptain/]老船长OldCaptain[/url]，推荐一些我个人觉得有特点的游戏。[/quote]

This is a great puzzle game. I'm not the type of person who usually enjoys puzzle games that much - most eventually become tedious, and the work of solving the puzzles starts to outweigh the payoff of solving them, which is when I usually lose interest. But Mooselutions is a joy to play, not only for the dopamine hit when you complete a puzzle, but for the fun of actually playing them. The visuals and sound design give Mooselutions a relaxing but lightly comical vibe, and the puzzle designs make playing each level feel like you're sparring with the designer. With nice puzzle mechanics that compose in interesting ways, good emergent teaching of the mechanics, and well-designed puzzles some of which are genuinely challenging, everything comes together to make each level fun to play and rewarding to solve. I highly recommend giving Mooselutions a try. It's well worth the price of a coffee.

twas good. While not scratching my life-long "moosception" itch, the mechanics that made this game a true thinker were very satisfying. However, don't let the cute moose on the storefront fool you, the meese found within are the devil incarnate.

Very nice mechanics and great puzzle design. One of my favorite new sokoban games. :)

Really calming but difficult Sokoban. Well thought out levels and a zen cosy little vibe.

It's a good puzzle game. Good theme. Very pretty. The moose are scary like in real life. But the game seems unfinished. There are 7 achievements which are not hard to get. I wasn't trying to get any, just got them by playing the game. The game design is well thought out and there are multiple ways to solve the levels. But I feel like it needs a little more in terms of story and book ending. You beat the game, and there is nothing. No indication that you beat all of the levels. No fanfare. No "You WIN" screen or anything. The game just takes you back to the map, and I'm like.... ok... Can I go inside my log cabin now? ... No?! What do I do here? Not even a thank you for playing cut to credits. Yes, I know there is a credit screen, but that's not a credit roll to end cap the game. Why didn't you do a little more for the end? Show me eating pancakes or something at the end. Yes, it matters. There's a reason almost every game gives you that extra bit leaving you wanting more. I worked really hard to solve all these hard puzzles without looking up a guide and all I got was dumped back out to the map. Booo! The puzzles also have only one win state. So it really isn't so interesting. There is no reason to go back and try to solve the puzzle under a certain time, or a certain number of steps. Therefore it's more of a "cozy" puzzle. But the game is completely dead when you beat it. And again, no fan fair for beating it. Just some steam achievements which are not very interesting either. The game does run very well. Although It did crash on me once. Everything loads up at lightening speed. Not that there is much to load. Also there is undo, and undo is well implemented. It is super quick, and even if you restart, you can undo your restart. But again, having the undo means there are no consequences for making mistakes. You cannot lose. You can only get stuck. The path branching is a way to have the player not get stuck, but if it's not on the main route, then what's the point? That being said, I did the game in order by level number, so I did all of the branches before I progressed on the main route. So it really didn't matter in my case. You don't get anything extra for completing a branch. This game is too simple for that. Therefore I would not recommend this at it's current price. Unless it's on sale for few dollars, you are better off buying something else that has better replay value and more interesting content. There are many other puzzle games with a lot more content at this price. In essence, the game is too lean. All the fat is trimmed away, Which is nice in theory, but this is a COZY game. Cozy games are expected to have more fat in them. And that fat makes the game more fun.