BoxBoy! + BoxGirl!
Year: 2019
Rating: E
Time Played: 511 minutes / 8.52 hours
While I was aware of the BoxBoy! series of games on the Nintendo 3DS, I didn’t try any of them until BoxBoy! + BoxGirl! released on the Switch. As a puzzle platformer, this game uses the most simple of mechanics in a variety of interesting ways. The cute little box characters were fun to control and none of the puzzles were ultimately impossible. The challenges definitely kept me playing all the way until the end, providing just enough mental stimulation to re-play levels immediately after clearing them.
I rarely finish games completely anymore, but BoxBoy! + BoxGirl! had just enough in-game motivation for me to reach 100% in a mere 8.5 hours. It might lean heavier on the “puzzle” side of “puzzle platformer” but this just meant I had to think outside the box (ha ha) if I wanted to solve each level with the minimum number of blocks. I was glad that about halfway through playing this game, I realized I didn’t have to achieve both the minimum block challenge and the crown collecting challenge in the same level playthrough. This meant I could focus on one challenge and merely replay the level to finish the other one.
These challenges made the levels re-playable for me. It also helped that each level didn’t take too long to complete—most only lasting a few minutes. Even though the different “modes” in this game are more of the same style of gameplay, they were unique enough to be fresh as I dove into them, but not so long as to become a burden to complete. Now, given that I completely finished the game, it will probably be some time before I pick this game up again.
A cute, approachable, and simple puzzle platformer, I give BoxBoy! + BoxGirl! 4.0 stars out of 5.
