Pixel Boy - Lost in the Castle

[b]7/10[/b] A Sokoban-like game that's laborious, yet captivating. [b]What is it:[/b] A Sokoban-style game, with the goal of pushing one special crate into the designated spot to unlock the exit. Other than boxes that can be pushed, there are doors that need to be unlocked with keys, fires that can be put out by pushing a box over them, holes that can be filled in with a box, and spikes that can be retracted when pushing switches. [b]How hard is it:[/b] Easy to moderate. [b]How long is it:[/b] 96 levels, not too hard and not too easy, but quite long, for 3-6 hours of play. [b]Level design:[/b] Good enough. The levels are varied, with a good progression curve, mixing the game elements in interesting ways. A few levels are not tight enough, I can finish them with spare keys, shorter solutions than the obviously intended ones, or unused buttons. I kept myself occupied by looking for these kinds of optimizations. My main complain is that the levels aren't that hard in terms of thinking, but rather laborious: the solution is easy to spot, but in order to achieve it you have to do hundreds of moves, pushing boxes from one side of the screen to the other. I think it was around level…

Enjoyed playing through all 96 levels. Most don't require much, if any, fore-thought and can bumble your way through them. Not crazy difficult but still fun and satisfying to complete. There's a lot of "red herring" false paths which is done well and is something I especially like. Feedback: -Add an undo, a single-move undo would fit perfectly. Often I mistype a direction, causing me to have to repeat a level and sometimes hundreds of moves. -Add achievements -Getting lots of crashes, which would be fine if it saved my progress in a level.

[b]TLDR[/b] Simple grid obstacle course game, no real novelty, rudimentary in general. [6/20⭐, 5h🏅, 2/5💡] [b]Context[/b] Pixel Boy: Lost in the Castle, is a traditional grid obstacle course puzzle game, with elements of Sokoban or Chip’s Challenge. The game seems to be developed by a small company, so I have no pleasure in this review, but I can’t in good faith recommend this game. [b]Writing[/b] There is no plot, not even a well-defined context. [b]Aesthetics[/b] The title is apt: there is a pixel boy. Except that everything else is not, and seems to rely on stock resources. The soundtrack is a single track, which is decent for an opening screen, but not to be repeated through ~100 levels. [b]Gameplay[/b] The game plays like a traditional Sokoban or Chip’s Challenge without the “action” element (there are traps, buttons, holes, boxes, but no enemies or moving objects requiring quick reflexes), and there’s no novelty or twist in the mechanics. Puzzles aren’t the typical “difficult to figure out, easy to solve” kind that I’ve come to expect in modern games. Instead, they resemble the design from traditional where levels are more maze-like, expansive and generic, with the (re…

Lots of stages but no new mechanics to keep it interesting. The gameplay is simple and straightforward. The goal is to push the red crate onto the crown tile, which will unlock the door to the next stage. Other crates are used to help you in creating a path by shoving them on top of switches or throwing them into holes that create solid ground. You must use caution since your red crate may also fall into these holes. Especially since the game does not instantly fail when you make a mistake. Spikes, holes, and fire can all be fatal. Fortunately, fire may be quickly put out by pushing a crate over it. Colored keys and doors are the only other mechanics that can give you issues. Most stages don't need you to be precise, and if you unintentionally push a box for an extra tile, you can still solve it. The lack of a "undo" button is an issue. Stages may require a number of steps to complete, thus making a mistake can be extremely aggravating. It doesn't happen often because some stages allow you some wiggle room, but it can leave you with a nasty taste in your mouth. Despite around one hundred stages, the game doesn’t add any new mechanics. You see everything it has to offer in the …

Nice puzzle game. I liked it. Levels are not very difficult.