Game Reviews

Pokaboo - Like playing peekaboo, but with a ghost and some coloured blobs

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iOS
| Pokaboo
Get
Pokaboo - Like playing peekaboo, but with a ghost and some coloured blobs
|
iOS
| Pokaboo
Well that's not a very spooky ghost

No, you're right. It is an adorable ghost. You leave that ghost alone, meanie. After all, it is the star of Pokaboo, a new iOS puzzler from Globz. What have you ever done with your life?

Fair point. So, puzzling ghosts

Yes. Puzzling ghosts. Well, one puzzling ghost. A ghost that's connecting together blobs of the same colour by pushing them around the screen.

So you're matching stuff?

Well, yes you are, but you're not matching stuff in the traditional way. These are essentially sliding block puzzles, but you're controlling the spook. You swipe to move around, and when you hit a block you give it a shove.

Sounds pretty simple

It is. Or at least it is to start off with. The deeper you get into proceedings the more difficult things get. You can push the blobs off one side of the screen and back onto the other, and while the mechanics don't change, new ideas do seep in.

New ideas?

Yeah, sometimes there are blocks that move around, but they don't mesh together and disappear when you connect them. You'll have to think pretty hard about where to move, and what to try and move while you're doing it.

Oh, so the blocks disappear when they slide together?

Most of them do, yeah. Often you'll need to clear certain colours before you can clear others. There's no fail state though, so you can take as many moves as you want. On the other hand, there is an ideal solution, and you get more points for finding it.

What else changes?

The shape of the arena is the most important element. It starts off pretty straight forward, but after a few levels it starts curling around, meaning sliding blocks off the screen deposits them behind you. Shifting things around becomes more and more complex as you play.

Is it particularly challenging?

It gets tough, yeah, but it's pretty relaxing at the same time. There's not much pressure, and since you can take everything at your own pace, and the game unlocks a level ahead of you, if you do get stuck it's never too frustrating.

Cool, I think I might try this one out

I reckon you should. It's not the most original game out there, but it's wonderfully well put together, it's a lot of fun, and it's got a charming swagger that will make you forgive it some of its little foibles.

Pokaboo - Like playing peekaboo, but with a ghost and some coloured blobs

A charming, well thought out puzzler that doesn't rush you
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.