Sokobos: Aphrodite’s Trial DLC – Review
A couple of months ago, we took a look at Daisy Games’ Greek mythology-inspired Sokoban puzzle title Sokobos. We definitely liked what the game had to offer, so when the developer announced that more Sokobos content was coming in the form of the Aphrodite’s Trial DLC, we were more than eager to return to this classic antiquity-inspired rendition of traditional Sokoban puzzles.
Story
Instead of continuing Aeschylus’ adventures, Trials of Aphrodite presents players with a completely new, stand-alone story that focuses on new protagonists. Young couple Nikephoros and Corinna are looking for the blessing of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, so that they may get married. As the DLC title already gives away, Aphrodite’s blessing doesn’t come easy, and the two lovers will first have to prove their bond. The two find themselves on opposite sides of a maze-like area, and they must find their way back to one another. Will the two lovers be able to reunite?
Graphics
It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that Aphrodite’s Trial doesn’t really bring anything new to the table in terms of visuals. It did seem like there was a bit more color variety compared to the base game but ultimately, Aphrodite’s Trial simply sticks to what made Sokobos’ graphics so brilliant in the first place. We still feel that mixing retro 8-bit pixel art with ancient Greek pottery designs is something that just doesn’t get old… which is somewhat ironic of course.
Sound
Just like with the visuals, there aren’t any major changes to Sokobos’ soundscape. The atmospheric music is still great but given the nature of the game, there isn’t really anything you’d be missing if you were to turn off the sound entirely and put on something else. That’s not to say that we dislike the OST because it definitely isn’t bad, but with no voice acting and only basic sound effects, it’s clear that Daisy Games’ focus was on delivering engaging gameplay first and foremost.
Gameplay
We extensively covered Sokobos’ core mechanics when we reviewed the base game, so we won’t be repeating ourselves here. The core puzzle gameplay remains intact, as do the quality of life features like being able to skip levels and optional turn limits. However, Aphrodite’s Trial introduces not just an additional set of levels, but new mechanics as well, and these are definitely worth looking into. The biggest addition comes in the form of Greek fire pots. When you push an object on top of one of these, both the fire pot and the object will explode. As fire pots themselves cannot be moved, getting rid of them can be a bit of a head-scratcher, especially since the puzzles in Aphrodite’s Trial still revolve around moving items in place and you don’t want to blow up certain items, of course. Another addition comes in the form of water barrels. These are a more advanced version of the previously present liquid mechanic. As we didn’t touch upon this in our original review, a quick explanation is perhaps in order. Solving a puzzle occasionally involves changing the color of a piece of statue before you get it into place. To do so, the item must be moved onto a liquid spill of the same color. Barrels contain liquid of course, but you’ll need to destroy these before you can utilize the spills that they leave behind.
Other new additions are more straightforward. You’ll run into locks, for example, and to open these you need to simply obtain a key. This is often easier said than done and you’ll need to manipulate the surrounding area by moving amphoras, but this means that you’re blocking other paths. The new mechanics provide Aphrodite’s Trial with its own distinct identity while still feeling familiar to anyone that played the original title. Aphrodite’s Trial doesn’t offer anything dramatically different from the base game, but given how enjoyable Sokobos was in the first place, the DLC didn’t need to. It simply builds on the foundation laid by Aeschylus’ story.
Of note is that even though Aphrodite’s Trial requires you to own Sokobos in order to be able to access it, you don’t need to have finished the base game in order to access the new content and you can instead play the DLC as a standalone thing. The original Sokobos game had 60 levels to offer and Aphrodite’s Trial adds a whopping 30 level increase to this, so you’re essentially expanding your game by 50%. It’s difficult to assess how ‘long’ Aphrodite’s Trial is because this depends on how good your puzzle-solving skills are. Some people will be able to clear the DLC in an hour or two, whereas others might get stuck for two hours on a single puzzle. Sokobos was already quite challenging and through the introduction of those new mechanics, Aphrodite’s Trial kicks things up a notch in terms of difficulty. That said, Aphrodite’s Trial never feels unfair, and the puzzle solving mechanics remain as satisfying as ever. The icing on the cake is how ridiculously cheap the DLC is, although the same could be said about the base game. The base price for the DLC is a mere €1.59, and you can pick up Sokobos together with Aphrodite’s Trial for less than €4.99. That’s a steal if you ask us, so if you’re a puzzle aficionado that hasn’t picked this one up, then what are you waiting for?
Conclusion
If you already own Sokobos, then picking up Aphrodite’s Trial should be a no-brainer. You’re getting a ton of extra content, relative to the base game, for a price less than that of a can of soda. It’s not just a matter of quantity either. The puzzles included here are challenging but fun and satisfying to solve. If you’re a fan of Sokoban-styled puzzles, you owe it to yourself to add Sokobos and its expansion to your library, if you haven’t yet.
Sokobos: Aphrodite's Trial DLC - Review,
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