Squeakers

Genre: Arcade / Platformer

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Squeakers, released on PC in 2018 and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2020, is an Arcade-style Platformer where players take the role of anthropomorphized boars who find themselves scrambling to respond to a rising water level by building a structure using a machine that makes blocks for them.

The presentation here is simple, but it works well enough for what the game is, featuring fairly simple pixel art visuals and a chiptune soundtrack. I will note that when your boar is struggling to swim and drowning, he’s not making any noise, which seems a bit odd given the severity of the situation.

As for the gameplay, this is a great premise for an Arcade-style Platformer with great Co-Op and Puzzle potential, but it feels like something is missing here. The issue is that building pieces need to be placed in a precise manner to be “seated”, and if they aren’t this makes it so other pieces can’t be seated on top of them, causing a ripple effect. This is made even more frustrating by the fact that various conditions can cause previously-seated pieces to become unseated, meaning all your hard work and preparation will have been for nothing.

There’s not really much else for me to say here. Squeakers is a pretty simple game, and it has the right idea, but the execution of the gameplay mechanics here keeps it from being as fun as it should be. For $3, it still may be worth a try for those curious to play it, but I can’t give it a high recommendation with these issues.

tl;dr – Squeakers is an Arcade-style Platformer that has players building up a structure to try and escape a rising water line. Unfortunately, the finicky mechanics mean building that structure will be a frustrating process. This game has a great basic concept, but the execution is lacking.

Grade: C-

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