Overview – developed by Yume Game Studio and published by Eastasiasoft, Moe Waifu H Push-Box is a block push puzzler, where the player must solve puzzle to unlock outfits for the five companions. Take on 15 spread across the five girls, trying to earn the higest score possible across the stages. This title is available on PlayStation, Steam and Nintendo Switch (only in Asia and Japan), with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Moe Waifu H Push-Box that was 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 no real plot for this release, so I will be moving straight into discussing the gameplay. For the sake of brevity, I will be referring to this game as simply Moe Push-Box
Gameplay – Moe Push-Box is a box pushing puzzle game, where the objective is to solve the brainteasers of each stage, pushing boxes onto markers. There are a total of 15 stages, split into sets of three for each of the companion girls that appear. In each of the puzzle stages, the player must push the boxes around, trying to get all of them onto their designated marker. This must be done within a time limit, or else a life is lost.
But be careful, as the boxes can only go one way and if they get stuck against a wall, they will not be able to get them free. When this happens, the player must reset the stage, using one of the three limited reset items. If the player runs out, they will be unable to get anymore, until they get a game over. This reset system is rendered pointless however, as the player can easily return to stage select, not needing the lightning reset.
When a stage for a girl is cleared, they will unlock the next outfit for them, becoming slightly more revealing. After clearing all three of the stages for a girl, the next set will be unlocked allowing the player to progress. Each of the different stages has their own look and theme, which does give them a little more variety. Sadly there is little variety with the stages, as once all 15 of the stages have been cleared, that will be the whole game.
Away from the main gameplay, there is a gallery that players can view. Here all of the different girls and their outfits will show up, but this is rather basic. Then there is a Jukebox, which lets players listen to the different musical themes of the girls. The content for this gallery feature is unlocked slowly as the player works through the game. Sadly, this doesn’t add much more to the experience, which in general is rather short.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the controls for Moe Box-Push is incredibly simple to get to grips with, as there are no action buttons that players need to use. During stages, the player uses the direction buttons/thumbstick to move the character, with two buttons for restart and go to the menu. In the menus the L/R buttons are used to switch between girls, then the A button is for going forward in and B is for going back.
Difficulty – Moe Box-Push lacks any real difficulty aside from the possible pressure of the timer, but this can be skirted by pausing the game. The game is pretty basic in terms of challenge, with the complexity of the stages being mildly complex as the player gets further. It is possible to make this game challenging, by trying to speedrun through the stages, or by trying to clear each stage in as few moves as possible.
Presentation – there is a rather pleasing anime style to the character portraits, but the stages themselves are similar to that of a flash or browser game. This further adds to the rudimentary feel of the experience, with the simplified stage elements. The backgrounds do look nice, but there is no way to view them in their entirety. Then there is the sound, which comprises of simple music that does work with the game and some simple effects.
Final Thoughts – I do enjoy puzzle games, with box push style puzzles usually offering a challenging experience, but sadly this experience lacks that complexity. The whole game was cleared in less than an hour, which is extremely short, especially for a puzzle game. However, the price for this game does partially make up for the relative lack of content. The puzzles are simple but competent, with little replay value, but it can be a good pick up for those looking to pad game completions.
In the end, I give Moe Waifu H Push-Box a final score of 2.5/5. This is a short but competent puzzle game, offering a gameplay experience that is easy to get to grips with, alongside some fairly pleasant anime artwork. All of this for a rather low cost of entry. If you want to experience this game for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below. Please note, the Nintendo Switch version is only available in the Asia/Japan region.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Steam version (HERE)
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