Overview – developed by Verigu Games and published by Eastasiasoft, SokoPenguin is a single screen puzzle title, featuring 100 stages of block sliding and obstacle clearing. Push blocks, interact with stage elements and find a solution to puzzles to get your penguin home. This title is out now on all console platforms, with a link to each version of the game available at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of SokoPenguin used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. There is a lack of story with this release, so I will be going straight to discussing the gameplay of SokoPenguin.
Gameplay – SokoPenguin is a relatively simple puzzle adventure, where players must solve single screen brain teasers to reach the igloo goal to clear the stage. The stages start off simple, with the player pushing blocks to reach the goal. But as the player gets further into the game, new challenges will be introduced. These challenges include bridges that need power blocks, spikes that will destroy blocks and ice that carries blocks across the stage.
These new mechanics will increase the complexity of puzzles, with increased risks of failure and traps for the player to walk into. However, this game allows for players to retry stages an infinite number of times. This system allows players to quickly reset mistakes made, giving a trial and error feel to some of the more complex puzzle stages. Players will be able to take their time and try to figure out the solution to all of the puzzles.
There is an intended solution to all of the stages, but there is a level of flexibility and experimentation that can be done, with the ability to freely retry giving further freedom. But the stages will throw some curve balls at the player, with red herring solutions that will trick the player into making the wrong choice. This is part of the gradual increase of difficulty of the game, with little else in terms of challenge aside from some hazards.
Last to discuss is the simple but cute progression system. Every 10 stages, the player will unlock a new hat that the penguin will wear, along with the ability to switch between them. This system acts as a milestone of sorts for players, who make their way through this relatively short adventure. The full game can be cleared in a couple of hours at the very most, with little reason to return to stages aside from trying to clear them faster.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to disucss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – this is an increadibly simple game control wise, with the only thing needed during gameplay being the movement and reset inputs. The player can control the penguin using the thumbstick and D-Pad, offering some precision to movements. However, the game does feel a little stiff as the character only moves in the 4 basic directions. This makes the movement feel a little slow and not as smooth as it could have been.
Difficulty – as mentioned above, this isn’t the most challenging title but does offer some good complexity with the puzzles as new elements are added during play. The best challenge I found was the bombs that explode in a cross, which made me plan out my moves before I made them. This does mean that the game can be played and completed by everyone, making it a good option for kids and families to play the game together.
Presentation – the visuals have a cutesy charm to them, using colourful pixel art sprites for the penguin, environments and objects to interact with the. This works well in favour of this game as it is a lower budget title, giving it a cheap and cheerful appeal. The colors and visuals pop off the screen, looking good on all screens. The music gives the game a nice and comfy feel, with relaxing melodies that tie it all together.
Final Thoughts – I enjoy a nice casual puzzle title, so I was happy to jump onto this. The game has a nice and cosy feel, with a gameplay experience that is a little short but is satisfying for the cost of entry. I very much enjoyed the puzzles, as they allowed for some experimentation, which increased the fun I had. I can easily recommend this to everyone, as it is a fun and enjoyable puzzle game that everyone can enjoy together, making it perfect for families and kids.
In the end, I give SokoPenguin a final score of 4.5/5. This is a simple but fun puzzle title, with vibrant and colourful sprites, puzzles that everyone can solve and 100 stages to complete, all at a rather modest cost of admission. The only negative being that those stages can be cleared fairly quickly. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
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