Volvox

Volvox

This review recommends Neotenia’s puzzle game Volvox for its excellent, challenging gameplay and puzzle design, despite some rough aesthetics.

[. . .] Volvox‘s deceptively simple core mechanics (rotating and reorienting triangles by moving them around the levels and around each other) open the door for mind-bending levels that often function like brain teasers. [. . .]

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Real player with 35.6 hrs in game


Read More: Best Lemmings Puzzle Games.


Volvox is a strange and fascinating experience that you have to play if you like interesting game mechanics and wonderful 2D graphics.

In Volvox you control monocular and triangular creatures, called Trimoebas, in order to reach the “end” of each level. Every puzzle is a new step in the long journey to form various organisms. You have to make the Trimoebas “roll” to create more complex structures as you progress in the game, and you will use their special properties (like glue and explosion…) to solve challenging puzzles.

Real player with 14.4 hrs in game

Volvox on Steam

Inklings

Inklings

FUN STUFF

Real player with 13.8 hrs in game


Read More: Best Lemmings 2D Games.


I bought this looking for a good Lemmings-style puzzle game on Steam.

Inklings doesn’t blow you away, but it’s solidly good: challenging and well-made.

It’s faithful to the original Lemmings with usable controls, simple understandable mechanics, and a unique graphics style.

It’s enjoyable.

The biggest con is that some of the puzzles aren’t super elegant, requiring hacky solutions or careful timing that is annoying to get right. But, if you’re looking for Lemmings, this is as good as you’re going to get.

Real player with 4.6 hrs in game

Inklings on Steam

Save the Dodos

Save the Dodos

Save the Dodos is a highly addictive puzzle game where the aim on most levels is (surprise surprise) to save as many Dodos as you can. There are 4 worlds and each world has 25 levels in it to complete. Most of the time you are asked to save a set number of Dodos, though some levels will ask you collect fruit and store it away in a nest or simply survive for a certain amount of time whilst avoiding enemies and enviromental hazards. As you progress through the world’s the enemies become tougher and more in numbers on some levels, but the game does a good job of never making you feel overwhelmed to the point of rage quitting. As with most good puzzle games you will spend ages looking at a puzzle and trying to figure out the solution, only to see it was staring you in the face all along. The art beautifully done and the soundtrack is one that you can happily listen too in the background without ever feeling the need to mute it. For anyone who likes the classic game Lemmings or if you just enjoy a good puzzle game then this game is a must play. Also at £1.99 the value for money is great :)

Real player with 11.0 hrs in game


Read More: Best Lemmings Puzzle Games.


Save the Dodos is a modern Lemmings game with dodos! Use the mouse to swap the terrain around and make sure all your derpy dodos reach the exit safely without getting killed. The game has 100 levels to complete.

I’m quite impressed by the game! The terrain is divided in smaller squares. You use the mouse to swap the terrain both horizonal and vertical. The levels get more challenging as you move on, but some levels have some clever loopholes that make them very easy once you figured it out. You start with just the standard dodo, but as you move on you’ll unlock different dodos that have some unique ability compared to the original one. This can make a level extra easy or hard (depending on what youre trying to do).

Real player with 10.2 hrs in game

Save the Dodos on Steam

Disobedient Sheep

Disobedient Sheep

This game is completely mad and great fun in local multiplayer, especially with my young kids - it’s simple enough for them to enjoy and doesn’t really matter if you play it well or not. It becomes complete mayhem with several dangerous items appearing or about to appear as you try to guide or bark the sheep away from danger! The different play modes are fun, the visuals are bright and appealing, the music suitably frenetic and some cheesy voice acting is a nice addition.

Since the last update controller support has greatly improved, and having 3 or 4 players madly scrambling around trying to keep the sheep safe is a blast. I thoroughly recommend Disobedient Sheep to anyone who has a few people in the house who want to play a game together, especially if some of them are young children.

Real player with 14.7 hrs in game

Disobedient Sheep is a couch-multiplayer party game with a heavy survival emphasis.

That it, the survival of some super-cute balls of wool that cannot, without your help, avoid the many genuine and lifelike hazards that come with being a sheep in today’s modern times. Ominously slow rolling boulders, falling anvils and anchors, bombs and of course the shepherd staple dynamite all await your precarious flock.

You play as a sheepdog, of which there are several cuddly variants, darting around the map for a time period dying to bark and generally hustle your sheep out of the way of these deadly obstacles. Your sheep act realistically, and group together in small flocks, but occasionally freak out at their impending existential nightmare and scurry off, making this challenge much harder than it sounds. As time goes on more and more dangers are thrown your way, making the final few seconds quite chaotic.

Real player with 5.9 hrs in game

Disobedient Sheep on Steam

Tin Hearts: Prologue

Tin Hearts: Prologue

2 Minute Video Review → https://youtu.be/slPuCooKGbg

Tin Hearts is a lemmings type game. Tiny toy soldiers march forward and it’s up to you to guide their path to the goal.

You don’t control the toy soldiers directly, you need to change other objects to steer them. Starting with just simple blocks to make them turn, but eventually you’ll be manipulating other toys to steer them. And there’s some creative contraptions that get involved as well.

The levels start small, but eventually you’ll need to guide the soldiers through large toy shops.

Real player with 8.7 hrs in game

Experienced on the Oculus Rift with Touch Controllers

The most beautiful VR game I have ever played. Each puzzle room will amaze you with its idyllic charm. You almost forget about the puzzles and just want to look around and play with the different assets. Unfortunately, most of the assets are there just for decoration as you cannot interact with them (outside what the puzzle wants you to interact with to solve the puzzle).

The puzzles follow along the normal Lemming-style puzzle challenges. However, several of the mechanics are done keeping with the toy workshop theme. You can stop time, forward time or reverse time. You’ll use toy blocks to guide your toy soldiers. They will jump on toy drums, take a balloon ride over obstacles, or bounce off a book or toy train. There will be obstacles such as the Jack-in-the-box to avoid.

Real player with 4.2 hrs in game

Tin Hearts: Prologue on Steam

Lil Big Invasion

Lil Big Invasion

Awesome indie game with way enough content to fit the bill. Its kinda like Pikmin except they are trapped in dungeons and you must find and rescue them.

Really loved the sound and the art-style. Dungeons are getting way harder and better later on and the boss fights are fun. It took me some time to get used to the controls tho. Exploration is great IF you figure out how the moths and the worms do work… which is not part of the tutorial :/

It’s cute but challenging and worth the money.

Real player with 46.4 hrs in game

This is a fun little action adventure game, developed by my former colleague Andreas. It’s so cute, but challenging ‘til the last minute and the sounds are really funny, even if the little fireflies sometimes don’t behave as you want them to. But that’s the trick of the game and you’ll soon know how to handle them right in order to crack some highscores. Overall, an awesome game!

Real player with 7.1 hrs in game

Lil Big Invasion on Steam

DOGNUTS

DOGNUTS

More than a greedy and adorable dog, it’s a challenging game and at the same time a lot of fun, but it’s going to be hard to fatten this dog up, my donuts are on the way :(

Real player with 8.5 hrs in game

Cute physics/logic game.

Some levels are quite provocative, in the sense of how many different aprouches you can use to win.

Very nice.

Real player with 1.7 hrs in game

DOGNUTS on Steam

MouseCraft

MouseCraft

~=Updated to reflect the official release=~

Quick rundown:

  • Straightfoward gameplay;

  • Appealing to all ages;

  • Well polished;

  • Colorful graphics;

  • Good soundtrack;

  • Easy cheevos for achievement hunters;

  • Enough content to justify the price (the level editor is awesome!).

–————-

Mousecraft is a delightful casual experience. The puzzles are straighforward, but propose a nice, non-frustrating challenge should you decide to get a “Perfect” rating.

I think the game finds a nice balance in its audience as it can appeal to both the young and the “old.” From personal experience, teenagers and overall competitive people will not enjoy the game very much as it is not fast paced and does not rely on skill, but rather your ability to analyze a situation and consider all the elements that are part of it. It does have leaderboards, but the scoring system is a bit obscure, making competition somewhat pointless.

Real player with 174.8 hrs in game

MouseCraft is a puzzle game that should appeal to casual gamers and hardcore puzzle enthusiasts alike. Finding one solution to pass a level is usually trivial, but if you aim to collect every anima shard and get all three mice to the cheese, you might be in for a challenge.

The first stage is relatively simple and does a good job of introducing you to the gameplay mechanics. By the end of stage two though, I found myself genuinely stumped at some of the puzzles. I probably spent a good ten minutes or more figuring out some of those last challenges.

Real player with 31.4 hrs in game

MouseCraft on Steam

Bunny Mania 2

Bunny Mania 2

8 / 10

Real player with 175.6 hrs in game

Bunny Mania Gaming

Real player with 5.0 hrs in game

Bunny Mania 2 on Steam

Stratside

Stratside

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPlyBCzqPMI

The puzzle and gameplay aspect of the game is pretty good though the visuals is rather lacking, which may be part of the game’s aesthetic. The gameplay is what matters most though, which is a nice defense game where you need to place certain defensive mechanism in order to prevent an enemy from reaching the end of the level. There are a lot of levels which ramps up nicely and gets you to think. There are also various tools you use like mines and cannons. Other aspects also show up such as change in gravity from time to time which changes the direction the enemy moves, so that would be needed to be factored in when strategising and placing your defense. Overall, it is a good puzzle game, though with nicer visuals, would be great.

Real player with 7.8 hrs in game

Real player with 6.7 hrs in game

Stratside on Steam