Slip And Slide Your Way Through The Tricky Puzzles Of Puddle
Puddle ($2.99) by Neko Entertainment is a liquid-based physics game that will keep you entertained for hours thanks to realistic physics. Even if you’re not big on science, you can definitely have some fun and even learn a thing or two with this game. It reminds me a bit of other games, such as World of Goo, but only because of specific elements.
What is it about physics-based games that keep us wanting more? There’s certainly a challenge with these types of games, and they just seem to play so well on iOS, thanks to the touch screen. And don’t forget the science — I find science fun, and love how it plays into Puddle. It’s not very often that you see a physics-based game that actually incorporates laws of science into the mechanics.
The thing that drew me into this game were the graphics. I mean, just take a look — these are stunning. They may not look like the prettiest things you’ve seen, but they look pretty realistic and definitely have plenty of detail. I found the visuals to have quite a charming feeling because of this, though I am not sure the liquids look like that in real life (when does water look kind of lumpy?). But hey, it adds a bit of personality to the game, which is always welcome. The music is pretty soothing, but the sounds are realistic, from the liquids themselves to the switches that you need to activate to the fire that will make your water go bye-bye.
There are eight different chapters, with about five levels in each. In addition to these standard levels, there are bonus levels that you will need to unlock as you play. In each level, you will have a different liquid (based on the chapter you’re in), and you need to get as much of the original liquid to the canister at the end. Sounds simple enough, right? The liquids include water, oil, nitroglycerin, molten lava, and more.
The controls in the game are fairly simple. To control the flow of the liquid, you just need to tilt the environment left or right, which is done by dragging the screen down from the appropriate side. You will need to tilt the environment appropriately as you watch what happens with the liquid. Each liquid differs from one another with their own characteristics, so you need to keep this in mind as you go through the chapters. There are also dangerous obstacles that will make the journey a difficult one, including burning passageways, electricity, lasers, carnivorous plants, and much more. You’ll also need to use the liquid to activate switches and solve puzzles in order to move on to the next step of the level — yep, there’s quite a bit of thinking to do in this game.
When you complete each level, you will be awarded a medal based on how fast you finish and how much liquid you drop in the container. Your overall time for the chapter is what will be used in the Game Center leaderboards, and there will be 22 achievements to obtain.
Overall, I am enjoying this game. It looks great, has realistic physic mechanics, and is quite challenging. While it may not seem like a lot of levels, it will definitely take quite a while to go through them all, especially when there are also bonus levels to unlock as well.
If you’re a fan of challenging physics-based puzzle games, and find watching liquids move from point A to point B relaxing, then I recommend giving Puddle a try. You can find it in the App Store as a universal download for $2.99.