Pushmo

Voices of: N/A
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Directed by: Taku Sugioka
Rating: E
Genre: Puzzle
System: Nintendo 3DS
2011

Times Completed:
Tim: 1

Summary: Mallo must climb block towers to rescue trapped children.

Review:
Tim: I have a lot of feelings about Pushmo. At first, I was delighted to play the game- it felt like another win for Nintendo. This cute puzzle block game started out very easy, but quickly became more challenging. Mallo is a fun character and the idea of rescuing children was bizarre but compelling. The colorful blocks arranged in random order, or even better, in familiar shapes and characters, presented many different challenges. I loved playing this game and progressing. However, as I got to the end of the game, the difficulty ramped up significantly. My fun with the game vanished, soon to be replaced by frustration and fatigue. I didn't expect a downloadable game to make me feel such a range of emotions.

Let's start with some obvious positives- the game is a unique puzzle game, where the player must pull out and push in different blocks to climb higher and higher, to reach an endpoint. That seems so simple, so straightforward. How many variations of this puzzle could there be? The answer is seemingly endless. The way each puzzle is designed is brilliant (and later, malicious) and it truly challenges your thinking. There were many puzzles I breezed through in minutes. Later, there were a few that took me an hour or more of careful concentration, trial and error. Playing this game felt compelling and there was real delight when you'd finally figure out a puzzle. A few of them were actually challenging enough that I'm not sure how I figured it out- I was pulling and pushing and suddenly, the pathway opened. That's an interesting experience- to think, "Wow, not sure how I did that!" but feel grateful for the ability to move on. I truly enjoyed the game here, and my 9 year-old son and my 6 year-old daughter loved playing the levels, too.

It was really fun, especially when you finish a puzzle and open the next one. I loved that anticipation to see what the next puzzle would be. So many familiar characters show up here and it added a great dimension- a new Pushmo puzzle, and a bit of homage-paying to Nintendo's illustrious past. Kind of a perfect combination. So, I loved the puzzles- even the harder ones. There's so many puzzles in this game. Each world has 18 puzzles, so it's quite a bit of work to make it through. I finished all the puzzles in the main game of Pushmo Park and felt such a sense of accomplishment. To finish them all, including the Special Challenges was not easy! That is 198 Pushmos, several of which were quite difficult. I felt like I'd "completed" the game.

Now, of course, there are "Bonus Pushmo". This is where the game takes a turn. After nearly 200 Pushmo, I was a bit fatigued. But, okay, let's go. The Bonus Pushmo ramp up the difficulty. I finished 12 more, to complete 210 Pushmo without ever looking online for a hint. I did those completely myself. Then, I got to 211 and that stupid Boo. I couldn't figure it out. I struggled, day after day. I could only play in bursts, when I'd get so frustrated and sick of it that I had to take a break. Finally, I succumbed and looked up one hint- I saw what I missed and was able to finish the puzzle. Things went downhill from here. I did make another nice run, but occasionally would get stuck and would look online. I got through the first 18 Bonus Pushmos, only needed hints on a few. That unlocked the Bonus Murals. These were extremely difficult in some places. Maybe my brain just doesn't work the right way, but this became a slog. I needed more hints on more Pushmos. A few of the 5-star ones, I needed a lot of hints. One of them, I finally just needed to follow a step-by-step instruction to finally finish it. This felt so defeating to me. I still played it and struggled and nearly figured them out, but it was taking longer and longer. I continued in this way to finish the 18 Bonus Murals. I'd now completed 234 total Pushmo puzzles, although I did require too much assistance on many of the Bonus Murals. That opened up the last world, the Bonus Challenges. I played B-1 a few times until it dawned on me that I was dreading the game. I wanted desperately to be done. The game had lost its fun. What should I do?

This is when I made the decision to quit. Part of me still hates that decision. I said up above that I'd "Completed" Pushmo. Did I really? Having finished 234/252 puzzles and admitting I needed help on several? Did I just cheat? Am I lying by saying I completed the game? Or, having done all of Pushmo Park solo, without help, was that enough? It made me think long and hard about what it means to finish a game. I've seen this more and more- I finish games without defeating the final extra boss routinely now. Is that okay? What I decided is that it still counts. I finished Pushmo, even if I didn't complete every puzzle. I think transparency and honesty is important here. I don't want to over-represent what I accomplished. I don't want to life. This game absolutely kicked my butt in the Bonus stages. It was a struggle and I lost the desire to move back-and-forth, rewind repeatedly, make it so far only to realize there was one block I pulled out too far and having to start all over again. It stopped being fun. I'm over 40 years old now and I don't have endless time available to me. I feel like I experienced this game. I did enough. I ultimately came to a place of peace with this decision.

So, what do I think about Pushmo? How do you assess a game that you loved throughout the main component and then hated the extra content? It's weird to complain about a game having TOO much content, but there's just too many puzzles here. It's way too easy to burn yourself out. The game is exceptionally hard at times, beyond frustrating. I give so much credit to those who figure out the Pushmos by themselves, but based on the online reading I've done, a ton of people struggle towards the end. This game did further my thinking about "completing" games, verses experiencing them. I feel proud of what I accomplished here. I didn't give up too early- I struggled and learned as the game progressed. Eventually, though, when the frustration far outweighs the fun, that's the time to put it to rest. So, thanks Pushmo for being fun and challenging me. And screw you for being so brutal at the end.



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



If You Enjoyed This Game, We Recommend: Crashmo, Pushmo World