Abridge

[b]june 2023 edit:[/b] some fixes and quality of life improvements happened, edited parts of the review. [b]abridge[/b] is a minimalist sokoban. push blocks with symbols around with the goal of getting rid of them all by shoving them through a black hole kinda thing. [b]93 levels[/b] divided into 11 sets. solving only a few (or half at most) is enough to open the rest and the next batch, very generous. sometimes those few are unlocked one by one, other times the whole set is at your disposal. the first couple levels of a pack are dead easy, the rest not so much, and I assume most or all of them are necessary for the final pack, I didn't get that far. [b]no timer or move limit[/b] but there's an optional move counter and [b]lots of stats[/b], including the number of steps, undos and resets, completion times, etc. neat if you're into data. an [b]optional tutorial[/b] shows basic controls. [b]symbols represent abilities[/b], they aren't just for show. everybody can push multiple blocks, but ones with a triangle/arrow only move in one direction, squares in cardinal directions, diamonds diagonally, circles also in the four main directions and are sticky and can push and pull. corru…

Have you ever been in those situations where you find a cute game from a genre you like, pick it up despite the lack of reviews, start playing it not expecting much but then get so engrossed with it that your whole weekend seems to disappear in a flash? If so then you'll probably understand why I hold this game in such a high regard. Sokoban as a genre has had its fair share of clones and how could it not. It's a top down perspective game where you essentially move blocks to their right position. This time such blocks behave in certain ways that are quickly explained and can be explored through puzzles in different sections. Furthermore, it's not as if you need to complete all of them to beat the game so after 10 sections the credits roll and your first objective is done. So what happens when you continue? Let me tell you. If you're going for full completion you'll notice that some levels start to get tricky and employ mechanics you may or may not have picked up on either by experimenting or by accident. The way certain blocks can push each other and sometimes trigger chain reactions can be the key to your solution. But the most important part is how once it clicks you can fe…

Surprisingly, this game doesn't have more reviews. It's challenging sometimes but oh so satisfying when you finally solve it. Thankfully, you only need to solve half the levels to progress to the next set. The tile abilities or limitations introduced on each set are very original. The bonus levels are easy but quite fun. I highly recommend it.

Played on Steam Deck. Nice sokoban, good and challenging while being simple and intuitive. Could use some background music.

Controls take some getting used to but once things click and you learn all the mechanics this is a really good sokoban.

Fun sokoban-like puzzle game with several different mechanics. Harder levels have that nice 'figuring out a possible solution when not playing' thing that is very satisfying.