I just beat World of Goo, an excellent, award-winning independent game from 2D Boy, a studio that from the credits consists of about four people. I’ve only more recently gotten into puzzle games after being introduced to Auditorium. I paid $10 for that game (which I still haven’t beaten), so when World of Goo went on sale for $5 a few weeks ago via Steam, I figured what the heck, I’ve heard good things about it, let’s give it a shot. It’s turned out to be more than deserving of the acclaim. First of all the game has been released completely DRM-free, which means no ridiculous restrictions on legitimate purchases of the game. It’s also been made available cross-platform, which in addition to Windows, includes Mac, Linux, and Wii.
The premise is simple—solve puzzles by manipulating little balls of goo, forming them into towers, bridges, and makeshift hot-air ballons, all while fighting against gravity and various goo-popping obstacles. The eclectic art style is very appealing, from the cute personalities of the various goo species to the humanoid elements that form stationary structures in the world. There’s even a quirky story that ties the levels together, complete with cutscenes at the beginning and end of the chapters.
The soundtrack had some neat pieces of music, but it began to lose some of its appeal after hearing the same songs again and again. A couple more tracks to help keep things varied would have been nice. At any rate, the composer has made the songs available for free download, so I’m planning on seeing what I missed while focusing on solving a level.
Each level has an optional “obsessive completion distinction” (or OCD, heh) that can be achieved by solving the puzzle within a certain amount of time or number of moves, or with a large number of leftover goo balls. I only managed to get this on one of the levels, but it’s certainly a way to add replay value to the puzzles. There is also an “endgame”: the leftover goo balls collected from each level accrue and can be used to try and build the tallest tower in the world. This distinction is achieved by comparing your tower to the towers of other users and is updated in real time.
I had a blast playing this game and I think it’s a wonderful example of an indie developer coming out of nowhere and blowing people away with a quality title. It’s definitely worth checking out.
3 responses to “World of Goo”
I don’t know how to explain my interest in this game. The best way I can think of doing it is that I’ve had it sitting in my peripheral vision. I’ll randomly hear something about how it’s a great game and want to give it a try, but just never get around to it.
I do like puzzle games; perhaps I’ll have to check it out. I did what you did with Audiosurf a while ago. It was a cheap and I’d heard good things about it, so I just bought it for shits and giggles. It was definitely fun and entertaining, and I even find myself playing it every once in a while still.
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