de Blob Revolution

Like trying to cover up a black wall with white paint, the underlying base of de Blob Revolution shows through even if the newest coat is of a different hue.

The quest to take down the drab and dreary INKT Corporation continues in this sequel, yet accelerometer-enabled action has been replaced by more thoughtful puzzle-solving.

You guide de Blob around a series of buildings, each floor presented as a maze. Initially, the idea is to draw your path so that you pick up as many of the Graydians - blobs drained of all their colour - as you can before making your way to the exit.

The problem is, you can't cross your own path, meaning once you've stepped on a square you can't revisit it later.

The ability to plan ahead is therefore essential because it's easy to work yourself into a corner. While early levels give you plenty of freedom to chart out tactics, as you move to the second set of floors time becomes a factor.

With the clock ticking away in the background, making knee-jerk decisions is not only common but imperative. The only saving grace is the fact that your progress doesn't rely on picking up every single Graydian along the way. In fact, such is the structure of de Blob Revolution that's it's possible to take a series of baby steps rather than one great leap.

Rather than simply having a succession of predefined stages, each batch of levels is unlocked by amassing a certain amount of points. This means you have to replay each building several times before you can move forward, but the floors are randomly generated so playing the same stage twice isn't an issue.

It's nicely pitched in this respect, the game designed to fill the odd spare moment with experimentation and exploration, as the route to conquering its mazes often isn't apparent until you actually get going.

But this cuts both ways. Get stuck, and rather than simply replaying the floor you have to replay a whole new building. It's a pointless punishment given that the floors you have to tackle for a second time are different, which means you could have difficulty moving forward because the solution constantly changes.

Though it's only mildly annoying in the grand scheme of things, Universomo should have eliminated this repetitive set-back. There's simply no excuse, given it's the one lethargic element in what is otherwise a very playable, durable, and enjoyable puzzler.