Zoop
Year: 1995
Rating: E
Time Played: ~0.5 hours
It felt like the 90s were trying to capitalize on the popularity of Tetris because there were quite a few puzzle games that came out in that era that had unique ideas but didn’t quite have the same spark that Tetris did. One such game was Zoop, which had probably the most 90s aesthetic of all these puzzle games. More of a matching puzzle game than a shape puzzle game, Zoop feels quirky but is easy to pick up and play. The problem is that there’s no lingering reason to keep playing.
The game board for Zoop is at the center of four peg-boards that fill up with different colored/shaped pieces until they reach the center. These pieces can be swapped out with the player cursor or eliminated from the board if the color/shape matches. There are a few special items that can help in the higher levels, but it’s mostly just managing the four different fronts and ensuring nothing gets too tall. As with most puzzle games of this type, each new piece arrives at a faster rate as the levels increase until the player can’t handle it anymore.
Zoop’s true challenge is the need to keep track of four different areas at once. If it were a big single area (like Tetris or many other puzzle games), it might be easier and more fun to try again. As it stands, the chaos of the four different boards makes it more frustrating than anything, and a loss doesn’t feel like it was because of a player mistake as much as it was just being overwhelmed. So, while the gameplay feels innovative and fresh, the replayability is lacking because once you’ve played through a few levels, you’ve seen all the game has to offer.
A neat puzzle idea that struggles with replay value, I give Zoop 3.0 stars out of 5.
