Game Reviews

Pudding Monsters

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Pudding Monsters
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We've all heard the phrase "difficult second album". But it's an idea that exists in games, too.

Following up a game like Cut the Rope - an impossibly cute and creative puzzle game that knocked Angry Birds out of its roost - is a daunting task for any developer. But ZeptoLab reckons it has cracked it.

Jelly dragon

Sure, the basic idea is a little safe, and has certainly been done before. Each level features a band of cute, anthropomorphic jelly cups, and you've got to slide them about the screen until they all meet up, stick together, and form one great wobbling monster.

You can slide each blob in any direction or order you fancy, but there's a catch: if there's nothing in the monster's path it will fly off the screen, and you'll be forced to restart the level.

So that means planning ahead, thinking through each move carefully, and using monsters as barriers for their monster chums.

Chocolate zombie

Yes, we've seen it before. We've seen it as a physical boardgame, and we've seen it as a quick mini-game inside much grander adventures. But Pudding Monsters manages to put a fresh spin on it.

For one thing, because the monsters stick together whenever they touch you're constantly changing the shape of your sliding blocks, and twisting the dynamic of the puzzle.

And, as in Cut the Rope, ZeptoLab is constantly adding new ideas and twists to keep the formula fresh. You'll unlock sticky monsters who leave a trail of glue, and monsters who use telepathy to move in sync. There are bumpers, ice blocks, cloning stations, switches, and more.

Ice cream yeti

The game's not super difficult. None of the 70 levels gave me much trouble, and the only time I found myself really scratching my head was during the three bonus stages that are unlocked at the end.

There's the extra challenge of beating every level with one, two, three, and no stars. But while it does introduce a little added difficult, only Pudding Monster obsessives will want to play through every level four times over.

Some note must be made of the monsters themselves. They're adorable little beasties, and I love the way their eye(s) follow their friends as they slide around the room, and the way they flinch when a buddy accidentally careens off the screen. They are plush toys waiting to happen.

Strawberry Cthulhu

Pudding Monsters is certainly a well-executed puzzle game. The level of quality exhibited in Cut the Rope is on display here, in both art and design. And just as you're starting to get bored, it surprises you with another inventive idea that changes everything.

But its toothless challenge, and a slightly familiar setup means it doesn't quite fit in the pantheon of essential iOS puzzlers like Trainyard, Where's My Water?, and ZeptoLab's debut app.

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Pudding Monsters

Pudding Monsters is cute, creative, and eminently playable. But it's a bit too familiar, and a bit too easy, to be a truly essential puzzler
Score
Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer