Platform: 3DS (Download Only)

Developer: Intelligent Systems

Publisher: Nintendo

Release Dates (NA): December 8, 2011

Genre: Puzzle

Nerd Rating: 6 out of 10

Reviewed by Shadow Links

Pushmo is a title that is more reminiscent of flash games I used to play when I wasted time on the computers at school. Very simple concept that over the course of a few levels grew to more difficult complexities yet ultimately the simplicity of what you did was the same.

Pushmo is only available via download on the 3DS and for good reason. For one it is so tiny and cheap that a cartridge would be pointless and two, the concept feels right at home on a 3DS and wouldn’t fully be accomplished on a 2D device.

The idea behind the game is a series of puzzle sets where you can pull a 2 dimensional shape out into a 3d grid. Utilizing the platforms generated by this action you solve the puzzle by pulling out platforms and jumping to get to the top. As such the idea of taking something 2D and making it 3D makes it just perfect for the 3DS. Also in case you make a mistake or a bad jump, the left trigger button rewinds time so you wont have to restart any puzzles. This comes in handy once puzzles start reaching 4 and 5 star difficulties and begin to add extra block types like ladders and buttons that pull out all blocks of the same color.

The story doesn’t particularly strike me as special except for the fact that it ties in the puzzles. You play as a fat cat in a red sumo suit named Mallo as you visit Pushmo Park, a park specially designed by Papa Blox with tons of Pushmo puzzles for kids to solve. However, one little brat is causing trouble and hitting the reset buttons on the puzzles while kids are playing and traps them in the puzzles. The owner would save the kids and solve the puzzles himself, but his back gives out on the first puzzle. Mallo offers to search for the kids and that’s how the story goes.

User made puzzles can be pretty high quality.

Now the puzzles themselves are extremely easy for a long time. There are 18 tutorial puzzles! Then you finally get to stage 1 out of 12 and the difficulty finally starts to ramp up at an easy pace. Over all there are 198 puzzles in the main game and 48 bonus puzzles. The puzzles can take shape of anything from abstract, symmetrical art, to extremely accurate murals of popular Nintendo characters. Not enough for you? A Pushmo Studio is included to allow you to create and share your own puzzles through a QR type of image. Never fear there are tons of creative people out there making amazing puzzles.

Meet Mallo the fat sumo cat in a red body suit.

The visual affect of the game is rather bright and cheery, after all you are a fat cat in a red sumo body suit, which helps lend an easy stress free atmosphere while attempting to solve the puzzles. The sound pretty much is boops and bumps and the light-hearted music fits the mood and might have you humming, but after 100 puzzles in you may not hear it or want to hear it.

Nerd Rating: 6 out of 10
Pushmo is a bright cheery puzzle game that can be addicting enough to pass the time and eventually challenge you with some difficulty. But in the end it is little more than that. There is not much more to the game, but as a small cheap downloadable title, it suits itself just fine. Well worth a download on any 3DS, but still remains a somewhat average game.