CRASHMO REVIEW

The folks over at Intelligent Systems have done it again. No, I’m not talking about a new Paper Mario, Fire Emblem or WarioWare title, but rather a sequel to last year’s 3DS eShop hit, Pushmo. The charming puzzle game captivated eShoppers with its delightful presentation and robust creation studio, but more importantly with its addictive, challenging and oh-so-clever gameplay. Thankfully, Crashmo has all that in spades - but don’t expect a simple expansion of the first game. While maintaining that Pushmo charm, Crashmo manages to shakeup the formula enough to provide an all-new puzzle experience, ultimately representing a glorious (and frightfully difficult) evolution of its predecessor.

In case you missed it, Pushmo had players pushing and pulling blocks of varying shapes and sizes so that the pudgy hero Mallo could climb to the very top and rescue the kiddo stuck up there. Fast forward about a year, and now Mallo’s chasing down a bunch of missing birds - but you won’t just be pushing blocks to help his cause this time around. Crashmo adds a slue of new mechanics that significantly alter the nature of the puzzles, as well as how you go about solving them. Perhaps the biggest addition is that you can now slide blocks side-to-side, rather than just pulling them in or out. While it sounds like such a small change, it actually greatly alters how you’re able to interact with (and effectively climb) each Crashmo puzzle, adding a whole new layer of depth to the entire experience.

Pirahna Plants - not just Mario's enemy, but also Mallo's.

Other additions include the new Float Blocks, which defy the law of gravity by staying in place even when there’s nothing below last game, which transport you from one area of the puzzle to another, there are now doors that move you across a horizontal space, as well as move switches that carry you in a certain direction if you step on them. These new gadgets are mixed and matched to create ample variety in the more than 100 puzzles provided. Paired with the greatly expanded ability to move the blocks around as much as you please, what you have here is an exceptionally clever puzzle game that somehow manages to feel quite distinct from its brilliant predecessor.