So you want to breed a PC (or Mac) gamer?

Everyone knows that Nintendo is for kids and everything else is for everyone else, right? But what if you don’t want or own a Nintendo? What if you want a pure bred PC master race child? Well in that case you’re going want to train your kid whilst they’re young. You’re going to need to pass down a particular set of skills, skills you acquired from a very long gaming career. Skills that make you a nightmare to console gamers. All this so your offspring can find and kill those difficult bosses of old and new. Skills that include colour perception, lightning fast reflexes and that Talos-given ability to wear down those WASD keys… You’re going to need Puzzle Box by Bplus.

Apart from skills, every young gamer needs to experience the pain of what it’s like to nearly perfect a level and then completely fuck it up right at the end. The obsession to strive for perfection and that satisfaction once you finally accomplish it and give yourself that almighty internal high-five! Puzzle box with give you this.

Graphics

The graphics is Puzzle Box are lush, bright, vibrant and fun. They range from 2D to 3D, depending on the game you choose to play, with the Kubi game being a beautiful blend of both. Kids love bright colours and I do too, there just aren’t enough Steam games with this kind of charm.

Music

Admittedly I’m not a music guru but I have an ear for irritating repetition. Thankfully with Puzzel Box this isn’t the case. Each individual game seems to have it’s own score and it’s really well made and enjoyable.

The sound effects don’t intrude too much and never feel out of place, just the right blend.

Gameplay

So Puzzle Box is broken down into 6 separate games and each mode can be made easier through settings in the menu which would be great for absolute beginners. Now it wouldn’t be completely fair for me to review this with adult eyes, so I did recruit my 9 year old nephew to test it out and have a play.

Classic

The aim of the Classic game is to drop the correct colours into the grid. This sounds easy and in fact it kind of is on some levels but then all of a sudden you’ll be hit with a dreaded 4 colour combo, your brain will go to complete mush as the screen slides by and you’ll start fumbling with your left hand like an alcoholic trying to get his keys in the door lock at 4am. It looks really easy and you’ll think it is. I guarantee you’ll be sat watching your child screw up time and time again, wait till they go to bed, try it yourself and feel like a right knob for doubting your first-born’s new skills. It’s actually quite demanding at times (if you’re a perfectionist like me) but remains fun throughout and that’s what’s important.

It somehow takes the same concept and repeats it without ever feeling too repetitive. It made me want that 100% score and not give up until I had it.

Next up, and I’ll group these together, are the Copycat and Boom games.

Copycat & Boom

So Copycat is basically recreating a background image using the same colour-drop principle. This is what I’d consider the entry level for any really young gamer that is getting introduced to PC (or Mac) gaming; using the mouse (or trackpad) and those dreaded WASD keys. It’s really quite forgiving and will allow the young’un to create a nice pixelated image and receive that sense of achievement. A lovely little gem that will keep them occupied for hours. Onto Boom…

You’ve probably guessed it already. Boom is taking that Copycat image and blowing it the fuck up. 3 bombs, see how many blocks you can destroy… simples and enjoyable.

Run

Run is a running/obstacle game featuring Roy the Marshmallow Boy and contrary to my own thoughts, my little nephew seemed to prefer this over all the other modes. You find yourself controlling Roy and jumping through the level, collecting coins. All the while trying to keep ahead of the dark killer cloud that is chasing you. My nephew just seemed to giggle constantly while playing Run… not entirely sure why to be honest.

Claw

Every game has a downside and Claw for Puzzle Box is unfortunately it for myself and the nephew. The controls feel a little clunky and the character (strange floating claw) doesn’t really connect with the player, being an insentient object. I think the claw could easily be replaced by something a little more kid friendly, with a big smiley face!

Kubi

It seemed slightly odd to me that Puzzle Box seems to concentrate more on the Classic modes than Kubi, purely because Kubi is awesome. Now that I think of it though, I can see the logic. Classic and Copycat are introductory games, something your child can pick up easy and hone their skills.

But for me Kubi should still have a much larger focus. Kubi could actually be it’s own separate game in a separate series. It’s pretty much an early-stages standalone platformer. This is where your child takes those new abilities that they’ve developed through the other games and use them in… well, an actual game I suppose.

Kubi manages to keep enhance on the charm and fun of everything that Puzzle Box stands for, blending the gorgeous colours with a fresh 3D/2D combination. Like I said, I could see it in it’s own franchise, that cute little Kubi box character selling as an Amiibo or plushy, alongside his little mate Pixo. The aim of the game is collect floating insects and make it to the end of the level whilst avoiding enemies. You also have the extra challenge of feeding little Pixo en route too. Kubi can double, triple, quadruple jump his way up the screen but each time the height is reduced which a great mechanic that I’ve not yet experienced.

I really, really like Kubi and hope that Bplus takes it even further. The character certainly deserves to be the centre of attention somewhere.

Final Thoughts

Puzzel Box is an absolutely delightful game that your child will thoroughly enjoy… as will you… when you take back control after bedtime to secretly destroy their high score.