Few games these days can strike that perfect chord between accessibility, challenge and depth; said games may be proficient in one area yet lacking in the others. Pushmo, the latest gem to release on Nintendo’s eShop strikes that chord with a master’s precision. Nintendo and Intelligent Systems have done a great job of not only creating a fine downloadable puzzle game, but one of the better puzzle games to release in the last decade.

 

     The objective in Pushmo is quite simple; your character Mallo has volunteered himself to rescue all the kids that have been trapped inside the Pushmo (the actual puzzles in the game and hereafter will be referred to as puzzles to avoid confusion). As Mallo you have to push and pull blocks to reach the helpless children inside, your character also has the ability to jump in order to get on top of blocks that may be out of reach. The first group of puzzles starts off as a simple affair made specifically for you to get a hang of the basic mechanics. Later puzzles are more of a challenge; you may find yourself climbing higher and wider distances, constantly falling down and jumping up to reach your destination, even encountering puzzles where blocks are on the map but are not essential to overcoming the current challenge. Trial and error is the key to what makes Pushmo such an enjoyable experience, that moment when you finally figure out how to solve a puzzle is so satisfying that over time you will start to welcome the challenge.

 

 

     Thankfully, Pushmo is a well paced game; new concepts like the Warp Pipe and the Pull-Out switch are introduced when the basics start to feel like second nature. The Warp Pipe works like a portal in which you jump in on one side and come out on the other, the only trick is that both sides have to be uncovered for you to utilize the gadget. The Pull-Out Switch will pull out all the blocks of corresponding color as far as they can go when stepped on. There can be a multitude of gadgets in one puzzle making for a lot of head scratching moments, this goes double for the instances where using all the gadgets are not necessary to completing a stage. No matter how intimidating a certain puzzle may seem you should not be afraid to make mistakes. If you miss a jump or pull out the wrong block you can simply rewind time a good five seconds, or if you want to start from scratch you can easily flip a switch to reset the stage. If you find yourself stuck in one of Pushmo’s 200+ puzzles don't fret, Intelligent Systems was kind enough to include a skip function so you can bypass those hard puzzles and come back to them when you're ready.

 

     Part of Pushmo’s overall appeal comes from the level design, quite a handful of stages come in the form of murals. These murals are just as fun to solve as they are to look at, adding to the game’s charming visuals. Speaking of visuals Pushmo is a delight to look at, colors are vibrant, animations are smooth and there are not any graphical hiccups to speak of. The 3D is done quite well, adding the extra dimension allows for better positioning on a lot of the jumps you will be taking throughout the game. In-game music is a so-so affair, charming whilst playing, but ultimately forgettable.

 

     Once you finish the “story” mode you can start creating your own puzzles in Pushmo Studio. The Level editor comes with plenty of tools to help you create the best puzzles you can think of. You can choose to start creating from scratch or edit pre-existing builds that are unlocked through the “story” mode. Sharing these puzzles is where Pushmo falls short. You can share your creations through QR codes that you can scan with the 3DS’ camera, but the game lacks a true online experience. Pushmo would have been near-perfect if there was an online where you could vote on user-created content, hop in and out of levels created stages and upload your own content. Even a Super Smash Brothers Brawl type of service where new content is automatically added to your 3DS everyday would have been greatly beneficial to the overall package.

 

 

     Nevertheless, the lack of a true online component does keep Pushmo from being one of the best releases currently on the eShop. The addictive gameplay alone is enough to warrant the 7 dollar (USD) price tag, but if that is not enough to entice you keep in mind that there are over 200+ puzzles to solve and a level creation tool to add almost endless replay value.