Pilapila

[b]8/10[/b] Modern Block-Man with special boxes. [b]What is it:[/b] A kind of vertical sokoban, you have to rearrange boxes to reach the exit. This is an enhanced remake of the old Block-Man game, with a lot more focus on level cleverness than just moving boxes. While in a classic Sokoban the goal is to put boxes in target places, here it doesn’t really matter what you do with the boxes as long as you can reach the exit. Grid-based movement, you can move left or right on a straight path, fall down edges, and climb up only one step at a time. You can also pick up and carry one box at a time, only if there is enough space above for the box to fit. What makes this super hard is that you can't just turn around to face the opposite way, you only turn as you move. You can't pick up a box and just drop it on the other side. The game is super frustrating, but in a good way. You think you have an easy solution, only to find out that you can't actually do that, and you have to find an alternative path. And even though you found a solution, is it the best solution? Although there aren't that many levels, you'll spend a lot of time on each one. The first chapter is just with plain boxes, but each new chapter gives you a new superpowered box type: boxes that destroy whatever is under them, boxes that fill up a well, boxes that clone themselves when you try to pick them up, ghost boxes you can walk through, boxes that can stand on just a corner. And if you want to unlock the bonus levels, you have to solve each chapter with the perfect solution, which makes the game a lot harder. I enjoyed solving the puzzles, each of them was unique, well designed without obvious solutions or errors, combining the few elements into elegant explorations of what's possible. A few levels aren’t just hard, but devious, they guide you to a state that doesn’t work, or to a suboptimal solution. There’s no worse insult to your intelligence than working for an hour on a level, finally solving it, and finding out that it isn't even the best solution. The game is well made too. Minimalist art style, mostly thick white lines on black with just a few touches of color, but it manages to look good. Decent QoL, with unlimited undo, fast response, decent settings, good controls. Overall, a gem of a game for puzzle lovers looking for a challenge. [b]How hard is it:[/b] Moderate to very hard, considerably harder if you want to get the optimal solutions and finish the bonus levels too. [b]How long is it:[/b] 73 levels, for more than 10 hours of playtime. 10 chapters, unlocked as you solve previous levels, but levels in a chapter must be solved in order. [b]Level design:[/b] Good. Very hard levels, with non-obvious solutions, interesting and varied mechanics. [b]Quality:[/b] Good. Unlimited undo, decent controls. Cloud saving, progress achievements. Decent settings, including some accessibility. Fast and responsive. [b]Worth the price:[/b] Yes. [b]Most positive aspect for me:[/b] Frustratingly hard. [b]Most negative aspect for me:[/b] Optimizing the score is frustrating, I would like to at least know what I’m aiming for. [b]What would make it better:[/b] Custom level editor and workshop support. Make controls rebindable. Mid-level saving. White mode. Undo through restarts. Display the goal for gold. Unlock all levels in a chapter. [b]Also consider:[/b] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2709060/Super_Retro_BoxBot/?curator_clanid=25928931]Super Retro BoxBot[/url], very similar game, but without special boxes. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1750600/Crate_Mates/?curator_clanid=25928931]Crate Mates[/url], another good game about moving boxes around, but different mechanics. [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] [quote]Follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]IndieGems[/url] for more reviews like this one.[/quote]

I'm enjoying this game so far. It reminds me a lot of [b] Super Retro BoxBot [/b] with a few gameplay differences such as boxes with abilities such as replicating or destroying rows of boxes. Both games feel like modern takes on Block Man for DOS and Block Dude for the Ti83, which is great because I've been hoping for a revitalization of those games for years! One area of improvement I would ask of the developers is to add a few quality of life features found in Super Retro BoxBot such as being able to hold Z to undo multiple times without having to press Z many times, alternate keypress options like up to climb and down to lift boxes (Block Man did this too), benchmarks listed for levels (Super Retro BoxBot uses "par" and "dev" scores), and a level editor (both Block Man and SRBB have one, and I'd love one in this). I also recommend adding some physics such as walking under a platform while holding a block causes you to drop it (this opens up some more concepts for level design). I will admit, I do enjoy Super Retro BoxBot a bit more due to the things mentioned plus the retro graphic style, this game could be a close second with a few updates. Overall, this is a great game and highly recommended, especially for the price!

Good puzzle game with interesting mechanics. The complexity of the levels is growing exactly as it should. Price is really cheap. Go and get it.

HOLY MACKEREL! This is one of the toughest and best puzzle games I've ever played! It's super easy to understand the rules. Pick up block and place block, jump around. That's the whole gameplay loop, but it gets crazy tough. It took 46 hours to complete all the levels and get the gold, but it was worth it. This mind bending little game is IMPOSSIBLE to put down once you start. The price is so great too, a huge bang for the buck puzzler! One of the best I've played in all my days. This dev guy probably makes test chambers for Aperture Science, he's that crafty! Another thing to note is that this game is meticulously well programmed. I didn't encounter a single bug while playing (which is very refreshing after suffering through Helldivers 2 recently, ugh what a mess). Not Pilapila though, it is perfect. A magnum opus even! Some levels are crazy tough to get the gold for, but they are all indeed possible. But puckle my duckle some of those levels were rough and challenging. Some took me days to solve! Just gotta keep on keeping on. I wonder if I'm the first customer to get the 100% too. I'd be curious to find out haha. And finally, a note about the developer himself. He seems to be a real great guy. I've seen his comments in the GameMaker community helping out other people with their game programmings too. Top class fellow, making top tier games. You should absolutely buy Pilapila and give your brain a goooood work out! Great time 10/10!

pilapila goes hard. so many amazing levels. plus the music is 🔥🔥🔥

Nice block-man like game with some interesting mechanics and challenging levels. Charming presentation and good controls, too. I'm definitely having fun with it. Also check out Super Retro BoxBot, if you like block-man inspired games.

A core mechanic that expands with each level, minimalist but super polished art style, super juicy and satisfying to play... Love it! :D

Really enjoyable puzzle game with impressive level design and unique logic mechanics. The base concepts are simple but utilized in a way to create an engaging and incrementally challenging experience. This is supplemented by the thought-provoking bass provided by the soundtrack.

This is a really good puzzle game. It gets very challenging. Now my head hurts and my thinky juice is gone.