Patreon button  Steam curated reviews  Discord button  Facebook button  Twitter button 
3DS | PC | PS4 | PS5 | SWITCH | VITA | XB1 | XSX | All

Pushmo (3DS) artwork

Pushmo (3DS) review


"With a seemingly effortless efficiency, the developers of Pushmo have created a puzzler which presents a delicate blend of difficulty and fun, while maintaining variety; things rarely get stale in this downloadable treat."

I tend to approach puzzle games with a healthy dose of skepticism. Most of the time they are unenthusiastic romps of familiarity and banality, often repeating the gameplay concepts introduced with little to no variation. Pushmo, I'm elated to say, changes all that.

With a seemingly effortless efficiency, the developers of Pushmo have created a puzzler which presents a delicate blend of difficulty and fun, while maintaining variety; things rarely get stale in this downloadable treat.

The premise is simple: in front of you sits a mass of multicolored blocks which need to be pulled, pushed, and slid in differing ways to allow your puff ball of a character (Mallo) to ascend to the top and nab the goal (the goal being other puffballs, which the game tells you are children stuck in the blocks). Completing the puzzles can often times be a breeze, sometimes four of five consecutive puzzles being completed in the blink of an eye.
Then, as quickly as they came, the developers will toss a curve ball at you, introducing a new puzzle which requires genuine outside-the-box thinking. It's not uncommon that you find yourself retracing your steps and exploring an area of the puzzle that might appear inconsequential. These moments of curiosity can lead to revelations or breakthroughs. It's at exactly those moments that Pushmo shines the most. The mental reward of realizing the error of your ways and subsequently conquering particularly crafty stages is always reason enough to continue on and see what else the game has to offer.

Just as you may think you have the core mechanics conquered and understood, a whole new dimension is opened in the form of manholes. Manholes allow Mallo to jump in on one side of the mound of blocks, and come out in a more useful area. It’s not as simple as it sounds, though. Many times the blocks that you skip when going through a manhole must first be arranged in a perfect order to actually complete the puzzle. This dynamic is a brilliant way of forcing players to think in ways they never thought possible upon the initial sizing-up of the stage.

If the mental part of the equation was all the game had to offer, it would still be a delightful offering in and of itself—but the platforming prowess required is icing on the cake. A multitude of tricky jumps are sometimes the only thing forcing you to skip a stage to try again later, and a majority of the time it doesn’t even click that you can make certain jumps until it simply hits you in the face. The satisfaction of besting a crafty puzzle in Pushmo has to rank high among some of the greatest puzzlers of all time.

For the ambitious folks out there, Pushmo even offers a create-a-puzzle feature which works well, especially in the way it allows you to share your creations. The system creates a QR code, which is basically a barcode that another 3DS can scan with its built in cameras. With a system as simple as that, I can see Pushmo having a long lifespan and a cult following on the internet. The possibilities truly are endless.

It would be easy to nitpick about the game’s simplistic graphics and conservative use of the 3D effects, but it would only serve to take attention away from the bulk of the game, and that is its dastardly puzzles, impeccable pacing and near-perfect execution therein. Regardless of your allegiances to genres, Pushmo is a must have. And at a measly $6.99, there really is no excuse not to have it.



Linkamoto's avatar
Community review by Linkamoto (April 01, 2012)

A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.

More Reviews by Linkamoto [+]
Quake II (Nintendo 64) artwork
Quake II (Nintendo 64)

It’s a precarious thing to write a review for a 17-year-old game. How does one judge its graphics, its sound—hell, its gameplay, even? But the latter is something that typically shines through in a game of this age, and allows for an adequate review. I’m happy to report Quake II delivers here--even on the limited N6...
Orcs & Elves (DS) artwork
Orcs & Elves (DS)

A solid fantasy romp that focuses on what makes fantasy games fun: slaying enemies, using potions, and trying new weapons.
The Stanley Parable (PC) artwork
The Stanley Parable (PC)

Is The Stanley Parable fun? No, I wouldn't say that it is. But it's mesmerizing, to the point that players will likely play through it so many times that each and every possible ending and branched path is exhausted, and they're left with but a ponderous thought that gnaws and claws at the things they thought they kn...

Feedback

If you enjoyed this Pushmo review, you're encouraged to discuss it with the author and with other members of the site's community. If you don't already have an HonestGamers account, you can sign up for one in a snap. Thank you for reading!

You must be signed into an HonestGamers user account to leave feedback on this review.

User Help | Contact | Ethics | Sponsor Guide | Links

eXTReMe Tracker
© 1998 - 2024 HonestGamers
None of the material contained within this site may be reproduced in any conceivable fashion without permission from the author(s) of said material. This site is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, or any other such party. Pushmo is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to Pushmo, its characters, screenshots, artwork, music, or any intellectual property contained within. Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the opinion of site staff or sponsors. Staff and freelance reviews are typically written based on time spent with a retail review copy or review key for the game that is provided by its publisher.