[b]5/10[/b]
Sokoban with sticky pipes, a good idea but not a good enough implementation.
[b]What is it:[/b] A kind of sokoban / pathfinder in which you control a group (or sometimes more) of connected pipes. You usually start with just one piece with eyes, with other non-sentient pipe pieces spread across the level. Each piece can have between 1 and 4 pipe ends, and when two pieces come in contact both with pipe ends, they stick together. Each pipe piece has a color, and the goal in every level is to get a pipe of the right color on top of each target square.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3382831216
More mechanics are introduced, like flat edges that can push other pieces, boxes that can be pushed, locked gates that require collecting all the keys before they disappear, tiles that destroy everything that gets on top of them, tiles that can change the color of pipes, moving rockets, and a few others. Having a new mechanic every 8-10 levels keeps the game fresh, at least in theory.
I had high hopes for this, seeing that it’s quite new, following in the footsteps of [i]Jelly is Sticky[/i] and [i]Yugo Puzzle[/i], but I was very disappointed. First, I feel that the puzzle design is basic, every chapter has mostly tutorial-grade levels, starting with one or two “just move forward” levels, and the rest rarely take more than a minute to solve. I’ve seen variations of the one level that is a bit more challenging in most chapters, and the remaining ones are mostly about execution rather than unique insights. Multiple solutions, unused elements, unused space.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3382830683
Other than the low quality of the levels, the implementation is really barebones too, with no menu, no settings, an awkward level select, no achievements, no cloud saving, a broken Linux build, and B as the one key that takes you out of a level, while Esc doesn’t do anything, no quit button, and a nasty bug that makes it not keep track of which levels are solved. Oh, and there’s no input caching, and the box movement is too slow for my taste.
Overall, this could be turned into a decent game with some more work, but right now it’s too frustrating to recommend.
[b]How hard is it:[/b] Mostly easy, with just a few levels that take a couple of minutes to figure out.
[b]How long is it:[/b] 102 levels, 12 chapters, 1-2 hours. Must be solved in order, no skipping, no hints.
[b]Level design:[/b] Not good enough, too easy, not tight enough, and too many variations on the same ideas, at one point I even thought it went back to the beginning since I saw the same levels I already solved at the start of the game.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3382831633
[b]Quality:[/b] Bad. There’s undo and restart at least, though you can’t undo a restart, and restarting is slow with a full animation and a pause. The level select would be decent, but it has two major flaws, it always goes back to 1, and while the levels are in a grid, you can’t just press down to go to the level under, you have to follow the line. Keyboard and controllers supported, though I don’t like the bindings, and they’re not configurable. No input caching, and the movement is slow enough to break my flow. No settings, but Alt+Enter works for exiting fullscreen. No colorblind support, and has a constantly moving background that may cause motion sickness. No cloud saving, no achievements. Small and not demanding.
[b]Worth the price:[/b] Would be if it wasn’t buggy.
[b]Most positive aspect for me:[/b] Good idea, I like sticky sokobans.
[b]Most negative aspect for me:[/b] No input caching.
[b]What would make it better:[/b] Fixing the progress not recording bug. Faster restarts and undo through restarts. Input caching, faster movements. Improvements to the level select. Custom level editor and workshop support. Use Esc as a back key. Some settings, including a colorblind mode, disabling background animations, fullscreen toggle, sound settings. A button for closing the game. Cloud saving and achievements. Progress reset. Show the status of each chapter, and don’t let me navigate to and open locked chapters. Hints and the option to skip levels.
[b]Also consider:[/b]
[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1492620/Jelly_Is_Sticky/?curator_clanid=25928931]Jelly Is Sticky[/url], sticky sokoban with a lot of good and challenging levels, and a lot of mechanics.
[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931070/Sticky_Struggles/?curator_clanid=25928931]Sticky Struggles[/url], another sticky sokoban.
[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]
