Penguins are great, I think that’s something we can all agree on. Block-sliding puzzlers can be hit and miss. It’s a genre that demands innovation, and if a dev just sticks to what we’re expecting, it’s unlikely a game is …
Penguins are great, I think that’s something we can all agree on. Block-sliding puzzlers can be hit and miss. It’s a genre that demands innovation, and if a dev just sticks to what we’re expecting, it’s unlikely a game is going to capture your imagination.
That’s not the case with Picnic Penguin (download from the App Store and Play Store) from Neutronized. There are some fresh, intriguing ideas here that – in some cases literally – step outside of the box. Chuck in a podgy cartoon style and you’ve got a block-slider that you’re going to want to try.
You’re playing the titular penguin and it’s up to you to push food and drink onto picnic blankets. That’s much, much easier said than done. Mainly because a variety of blocks, hazards and lumps of scenery are in your way.
Things start off reasonably simple. Move a block, push the sandwich, you’re done. Slowly but surely the challenge ramps up. Heavier blocks pop up – they can push into lighter ones, but they can’t be moved the other way round. Blocks with arrows on them can only be pushed in that direction.
You’ve got blocks with stars on too, which can be cleared from the level if you match them up in a straight line, and blocks with spikes on them that will mess you up if you push them without a buffer. And then there’s the outside world.
Around some of the levels is an extra chunk of space, patrolled by skeletons, office workers and more who’ll kill you if they catch you. And you’re going to have to step out there to move the blocks you need to get the chips and soda into the right place.
With four sets of differently themed levels, Picnic Penguin manages to keep things fresh, and balances its challenge with accessibility in some pretty darn sharp ways. It’s a lot of the right kind of fun, tough but never smash-your-phone-and-sulk tough.
Picnic Penguin is a game that’s perfectly shaped for short-burst mobile gaming moments. You can put it down for a month, pick it up again and still remember everything you need to. That it manages to be that, as well as remarkably fresh, is an achievement in and of itself.
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