Sokobos – Review
We’re willing to bet that if we were to ask you to come up with a video game based on ancient Greek mythology, that a minimalistic puzzle title wouldn’t be the first thing to pop into your head. After all, the epic stories involving Zeus and his Olympian counterparts seem to lend themselves far better to games like Hades or Immortals: Fenyx Rising. With their game Sokobos, however, indie developer Daisy Games took the unlikely route, presenting Greek hero Aeschylus -and subsequently, the player- with a series of block sliding puzzles as they attempt to build a temple for Zeus single-handedly. Is Sokobos worthy of the Gods or does it belong in the underworld?
Story
Despite Sokobos’ minimalistic presentation and the fact that the genre doesn’t really lend itself to delivering a story, Daisy Games actually put some effort into fleshing out the lore for their game. Players take on the role of ancient Greek hero Aeschylus, who has been gifted with superhuman strength by the Gods. In order to repay them, Aeschylus must single-handedly build a temple in Zeus’ honor. That’s easier said than done, as our hero may have the brawn but he needs a little help in the brain department -which is where we come in. The story is told through short cutscenes, and although the undertones are serious throughout the game, there were a few times where we couldn’t help but crack a smile at the sheer audacity of the Gods as they confronted Aeschylus.
Graphics
In what can only be described as a stroke of brilliance, Sokobos marries the simplistic graphics of early PC games with the art seen on ancient Greek pottery. The result is a minimalistic art style that knows its limitations and uses them as an advantage. We’d hesitate to call this a gorgeous game as it isn’t all that impressive, but within the atmosphere that Sokobos is trying to convey, Daisy Games absolutely nailed the visuals. Naturally, the game isn’t going to be taxing on anyone’s hardware either and performance is flawless as a result.
Sound
We quite enjoyed Sokobos’ OST which provided us with plenty of variety, matching its musical tracks to the atmosphere of each level. Add to this that the sound effects were basic but suitable and you’ve got a very decent but otherwise unremarkable soundscape. With no voice acting present, there isn’t a whole lot else that we can say about the game’s audio though.
Gameplay
The title probably gave it away already: Sokobos is a game that takes the Sokoban puzzle genre and puts a mythological twist on it. If you’re unfamiliar with Sokoban, it’s a type of puzzle game where you need to push blocks around a limited space and get them to their designated locations. The difficulty lies in moving the blocks around in the right order, in such a way that you can get each block to its end position without blocking off the pathways. It’s a puzzle genre that’s been around since the early ‘80s and although there are countless iterations of Sokoban, such as Room to Grow, for example, Sokobos is one of the best ones we’ve come across. That is, if you’re looking for an actual challenge, as the game presents players with a couple of real headscratchers throughout its 60 levels.
Things start out easy enough as you push blocks around to build a new temple for Zeus, but gradually, new mechanics are introduced which complicate things. The opening stage sees you having to assemble a simple statue using four blocks, which is easy enough and does feel like classic Sokoban. Soon enough though, you’ll have to build bridges, deal with blocks that can’t be moved anymore once they’re in a specific position, and figure out different paint schemes. Whenever Sokobos introduces a new twist, it’s explained thoroughly, so we can’t fault the game for being obtuse, but it can be difficult to wrap your head around how specific mechanics interact with one another. Die-hard puzzle aficionados will absolutely love getting stuck into Sokobos, but the game will likely feel overwhelming for anyone else. Granted, if you’re competitive, you might want to aim for a place on the game’s leaderboards, but that is an option that can be turned off if you feel like being confronted with your struggles is too jarring.
The sheer difficulty level of these puzzles may feel daunting but you shouldn’t let it deter you from giving Sokobos a go. Daisy Games has implemented several QoL features to improve the game’s accessibility, in such a way that casual puzzle fans are able to enjoy the game at their own pace. You are able to undo moves when you make a mistake, without having to restart the level. If a puzzle proves to be too difficult, you can skip it entirely too. Add to this that there are no mechanics present to worry about outside of the puzzles themselves, like enemies or a time limit, and you’ve got a challenging but fairly stress-free experience. The merit and beauty of Sokobos lie in that it knows exactly what it wants to be. It’s not an easy game by any means, and although some of the puzzles proved to be a bit too complicated for our liking, the fact that we could skip them meant we never grew frustrated with the game. There isn’t a whole lot of depth to Sokobos’ core mechanics, but that’s more than made up for by how inventive and complex the puzzles themselves are.
Conclusion
It’s impressive to see just how much Daisy Games could achieve within the self-imposed limitations of a minimalistic game like this. The game nails the aesthetics and the puzzles themselves are fantastic, with an elegant implementation of simple mechanics and QoL features that dramatically improve the game’s accessibility. Even so, it may still be a daunting title for casual puzzle fans, but that’s pretty much the only negative for what is an easy recommendation.
Sokobos - Review,
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