BoxBoy!

Voices of: N/A
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Directed by: Yasuhiro Mukae
Rating: E
Genre: Puzzle-Platform
System: Nintendo 3DS
2015

Times Completed:
Tim: 1

Summary: Qbby uses his box-making powers to overcome a series of levels filled with obstacles.

Review:
Tim: BoxBoy! is a fantastic puzzle-platform game. It's simplistic design might fool you into thinking it's an easy game, but some of the puzzles are real head-scratchers. The game is terrifically designed and provides players with a good deal of content. I enjoyed this game so much. There's nothing better than solving one of the puzzles and feeling so good about your accomplishment.

I do want to heap some praise on the design of Qbby. Brilliant name, first of all. Secondly, it's stunning how cool of a character they made with six lines and two dots. Qbby is the definition of simply designed, but is such a memorable character in his own right. It's great fun to use Qbby and his various powers to generate boxes to solve the different puzzles. I was a big fan of Qbby.

The game is so simply designed and I know some critics didn't like that. I thought it was extremely cool- it's surprising how such a simplistic design can still create a somewhat immersive playing experience. As you move from level-to-level, you immediately focus on the obstacles ahead of you and work to figure out the solution. The minimalistic design amplified and focused the game, it never detracted from it. The only colors- black and white- provide a nice contrast as well. I thought the visuals were great, simply because they were so straightforward- stripped to the essence.

I was also surprised by how much content the game has. There are 17 main worlds, plus an additional 5 that you can unlock as part of the endgame. That's a ton of levels. I played through them all, finishing every level with a Perfect rating. I also completed all the Time Trials and the Score Trials. That involves so many different puzzles! The game starts out easy and certainly adds in difficulty as the game progresses. I mostly breezed through the levels, but there were several that proved extremely difficult for me. I knew an answer was always within reach, but it definitely challenged me at times. This is a huge plus for the game- it's easy to pick up, but throws some real challenges at the player as the game progresses. I never felt bored with the game and I felt a genuine sense of accomplishment at some of the more challenging levels. As much as I enjoyed the game, I was certainly more focused on finishing it, verses trying to master it. My clear time was 9:36:12 and I used a ton of boxes and retries. I was fine with that. It was more of the experience than anything for me. I did get the Legendary King, for collecting all 135 medals, doing the levels perfectly. Like I said, just a ton of fun.

I really enjoyed BoxBoy!. The game feels important to me because it was a reminder of how many terrific video game franchises are out there, beyond the major franchises we all know about. I do tend to spend a lot of my time on the major franchises and the immense fun I had with this one pushed me to continue to seek out smaller but excellent games. The Nintendo 3DS was really a spectacular console and it had a ton of terrific games. At some point, I absolutely plan to play through the other games in this franchise. As for this one, it's certainly one of the best and most fun puzzle games I've ever played. BoxBoy! rules.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Game, We Recommend: BoxBoxBoy!, Pushmo, Angry Birds