Gorogoa

Genre: Graphic Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

Gorogoa is a fascinating spin on the graphic puzzle game where you’re sort of indirectly guiding a character to try to gather a series of objects, and what’s so unique about it it how you interact with the game to solve puzzles.

The game is viewed through four panels, arranged like a windowpane. The player can zoom into or out of select places in any given panel, or they can move one of the panels to one of the other three locations, and that is pretty much all you do in the game. However, through these simple interactions, you make all sorts of amazing things happen.

You might, for example, move one panel that has a weight next to another, creating a see-saw that makes the platform they’re on in both panels tip over. You could move a cut-out of a circle over a tree, with the green circle becoming the apple you now need to solve the puzzle you’re working on. The various puzzles and their solutions are all clever and make use of perspective and really get you thinking about just how to solve them.

In fact, I have to admit that some of the puzzles may have been a bit too clever for me, as even with few possible commands, I repeatedly found myself scratching my head when it came to figuring out just what to do next.

A part of the fault of this is the presentation. Oh, don’t get me wrong, this game is absolutely gorgeous with its beautiful hand-drawn animations, ornate scenery, and subdued soundtrack. But to maintain this amazing atmosphere, the game is completely wordless, which makes for an elegant presentation, but makes it harder to discern exactly what to do sometimes.

Maybe this is just me not liking one of the common elements of this genre, though. By every other measure, this game is a resounding success – it’s a beauty to behold, with wonderful puzzles that will actually have your jaw dropping at how clever they are.

tl;dr – Gorogoa is a graphic puzzle game that delivers with some incredible puzzles and an absolutely gorgeous presentation. At times, it can be a bit confusing what you’re supposed to do next, though.

Grade: B

Note: This is one of the first reviews ever written on eShopperReviews, all the way back when it was just a community on another website. It was originally posted on the very first day of that community’s existence, on Saturday, June 29, 2019. My, we’ve come a long way, haven’t we!

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