Patrick's Parabox

Back in the day, when my mom got me Boxxle for my brand-new Game Boy, I had no idea how instructive it would end up being. After all, it was little more than a game about pushing boxes around a room, yet we've seen that kind of puzzle pop up in some genuinely surprisingly places over the last thirty years. The newest spin on the crate-pushing genre is Patrick's Parabox, a trippy new puzzle game with an almost endless supply of crazy ideas. In fact, there are so many wrinkles to the formula here that after Patrick's Parabox, I doubt we'll ever need to push another crate again. Looks like we're going to need to find another back-breaking task to turn into a puzzle cliché. Here's my review of Patrick's Parabox.

At first glance, Patrick's Parabox doesn't look that different from Boxxle on the Game Boy. It's a game where a colored box with eyes pushes around other boxes in order to solve puzzles. This is a concept you've seen countless times before. But don't dismiss it just yet, because this is actually a puzzle game where there are boxes within boxes within boxes. That's right, this is the Inception of crate-pushing games, where you'll manipulate reality by shrinking smaller and smaller in order to go inside other boxes and find the solutions.

The good news is that the game does a great job of easing you into this mind-bending concept. We'll start out by using the shapes inside of the boxes to get around tricky environments, which will quickly turn into pushing the bigger boxes into the smaller boxes so that you can fit all three into an even smaller box. There are also stages built around portals, clones, transfers and so much more. Each new area finds a way to work a new mechanic into the mix, something that will force you to completely rethink the how you're going to approach each stage.

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There are a few things you'll need to keep in mind, no matter what level you're trying to solve. For starters, our little box can only push, so if you accidentally move a box next to the wall, the only way to pull it back is to reverse time and back up a few steps. You'll also find that you can move multiple boxes at the same time, so you can throw away the smart idea of using a crate as an anchor. A lot of the levels look incredibly easy at first, only to reveal their true challenge when you realize that you can't put the box there or shrink when you want to. Even when I hit a wall (both literally and figuratively), I couldn't get over how clever the puzzles were. And it's in both big ways and small. There were so many times when I had to stop for a moment and marvel at a level's ingenuity.

What's especially impressive is that there are more than 350 of these expertly-crafted stages, yet none of them feel like filler. Each new area will introduce a new wrinkle to the gameplay, and then the game will play with that concept until it either runs out of ideas or gets bored. For a game about pushing boxes around, there's very little repetition in the puzzles. And best of all, you don't even need to beat all of the levels in an area to move on. This keeps the pace fast, while also giving you a lot of content to come back and experience. Trust me, this is not one of those games you're going to beat in one or two sittings. You'll be picking away at Patrick's Parabox for some time to come.

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A lot of the reason why all this works so well is because of its simplicity. Even though it can sometimes take a moment to wrap your head around the different layers in each puzzle, all you're required to do is push a box around. This is a game that knows you're going to get stuck from time to time, so the developer wisely added a rewind button, as well as a button that will reset the level back to its starting position. The levels and pieces may get more complicated, but the gameplay and goals are always simple. Patrick's Parabox makes a strong argument that you can do a lot more than you might think with a simple premise. Puzzle developers can learn a lot from the designs and mechanics found in this game.

In that sense, Patrick's Parabox is hard to criticize. It's a purposely simple concept with a complementary art style that doesn't get in the way of the game's hidden depth. The gameplay is responsive and has enough outs so that you never get struck to the point of frustration. And even when you can't solve an especially tough puzzle, you're never forced to stick with it. There are hundreds of stages to jump around and play, all of them with fresh new ideas and never any filler. And, best of all, it has a great soundtrack full of catchy songs you won't be able to get out of your head. The only way you're not going to love Patrick's Parabox is if you simply don't like puzzle games. Everybody else will find an instantly likeable game with endlessly innovative puzzle designs. I cannot recommend it strongly enough.