BoxBoxBoy! Review: Puzzling Genius Renewed
The followup to BoxBoy!, aptly titled BoxBoxBoy!, retains its charm and improves on the experience in every way.
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: June 30, 2016
Last year, HAL Laboratory (the studio best known for Kirby, Super Smash Bros., and Earthbound) quietly released one of the best games of 2015, BoxBoy! There are two reasons why BoxBoy! may have slipped under the radar: it was a 3DS eShop exclusive, and it offered a bare bones aesthetic that could be perceived as hastily thrown together or inherently inferior by presentation alone.
Still, BoxBoy! was well-received by critics, and HAL Laboratory has already turned around and released its successor, BoxBoxBoy! The sequel is largely familiar territory, but it does everything the original did so well, but better. Much, much better.
You play as Qbby, an adorable little box with legs, through a series of sidescrolling levels that combine platforming with Tetris-esque puzzles. The color palette is plain. White, gray, and black is pretty much all you will see, but that’s the point. BoxBoyBoy! defies the reported need of lush visuals and vibrant colors for a engaging experience. It’s a return to when gameplay was king.
In the original, Qbby could create one series of blocks to aid in his pursuit to the double doors at the end of each level. In Qbby’s second adventure he has the power to create two sets of blocks. The result is one of the most intelligent puzzle-platformers in recent memory and the best game to release on the Nintendo 3DS so far this year.
Remember the satisfaction of learning a new trick in Portal? BoxBoxBoy! does this time and time again throughout its twelve main worlds and subsequent challenge worlds. Each “world” contains a handful of levels, and each of these worlds introduces a new way to utilize Qbby’s capabilities effectively. There are times when playing BoxBoxBoy! when you think: “There’s just no way I can get from here to there.” But then, after some trial and error, you take what you have learned and succeed, and it is utterly magical.
The main campaign consists of 79 stages, each one as wonderfully designed as the last. While there is more than one way to finish a given level, the game has constraints and guidelines which encourage you to think before you act. Qbby can always have two sets of blocks built at one time, but some levels let each set contain two, three or four blocks. When creating a set when two already exist, the oldest structure disappears. Running out of blocks isn’t an option, but collectible crowns that produce additional coins to buy extras vanish when too many errant sets have been built in a single level.
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BoxBoxBoy! is a game that fittingly grows in quality with progression. The levels are impeccably designed to teach players how to fully take advantage of Qbby’s strengths. Qbby cannot jump high,nor can he run. These two hallmarks of platforming games are missing, but in the end, that doesn’t matter. BoxBoxBoy! is a methodical platformer with ingenious puzzle mechanics. It may not be flashy or loud, but it has a lot of heart.
With a bargain price tag and a plethora of content, BoxBoxBoy! is one of the best values around, and a masterful display of puzzle-platforming.
9.5. <em>BoxBoxBoy! </em>is a delightful game from start to finish. It builds off of a simple premise to create one of the most rewarding game experiences of the year. You haven’t had this much fun stacking blocks since you were in diapers.. HAL Laboratory. . BoxBoxBoy!
A copy of this game was provided to App Trigger for the purpose of this review. All scores are ranked out of 10, with .5 increments.