A Good Snowman is Hard to Build

Genre: Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Draknek and Friends Puzzle Bundle, along with Sokobond, Cosmic Express, and A Monster’s Expedition. It is also in Draknek & Friends Puzzle Bundle (5 Games), along with the above mentioned games as well as Bonfire Peaks. Additionally, this game is included in Draknek & Friends Puzzle Bundle (6 Games), along with all of the above mentioned games, as well as Bonfire Peaks and Patrick’s Parabox. However, none of those bundles are currently available, although one bundle that is still available is Draknek and Friends Puzzle Bundle (2024), which contains all of the games named above plus Sokobond Express.)

A Good Snowman is Hard to Build, alternately referred to simply as A Good Snowman, is a family-friendly Puzzle game first released on PC and mobile devices in 2015 and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2021. This game has players playing as a character pushing around snowballs to form a snowman.

A Good Snowman features a simple presentation – the character is represented as a blobby stick figure with fairly well-animated limbs, and the levels are created with simple 2D visuals that are fairly repetitive but do a decent enough job depicting a snowy park. This is backed by a dreamy synthesized soundtrack that perfectly fits the relaxed nature of the game. In short, this is an unimpressive presentation, but nevertheless one well-suited to the game.

As for the gameplay itself, A Good Snowman is little more than a block-pushing puzzle, but one that’s fairly well made – snowballs clear snow they’re moved over, and increase from small to medium to large as they’re pushed over a tile of snow, and each snowball can only be moved onto a larger snowball, or pushed off of it to land on the other side. Players can’t pull or pick up a snowball, only push. And… that’s pretty much it. Yet despite the simple mechanics, the solid puzzle design in the game keeps things interesting, and the pleasant theme certainly doesn’t hurt, although the game can get a tad repetitive over time.

The traditional gamepad controls here work perfectly fine, but those who prefer do have the option of using touchscreen controls that are also sufficient. I actually think the gamepad controls are better here, but it’s nice that they included the option, regardless. In terms of value, A Good Snowman is a tad lacking, offering only 30 puzzles for $10. This is not all of the game’s content – there are additional post-game puzzles, but these are not nearly as straightforward as the puzzles in the main game, and even if you can understand what the game wants you to do here, it doesn’t extend the gameplay for very long – even with this added content, the game can still be completed in just a few hours.

Still, while A Good Snowman is lacking in content, it’s still fun while it lasts, and its well-crafted puzzles and charm help to make up for some of that lack of content. If you’re looking for a good block-pushing Puzzle game to add to your collection, or want a peaceful Wintery game, A Good Snowman is worth a look.

tl;dr – A Good Snowman is a family-friendly Puzzle Game where players push snowballs to create snowmen. The presentation here is simple but charming, and the puzzles are well-designed, but the game is lacking on the content side of things. Still, this game is fun while it lasts, and if its concept appeals to you, you may find it worth giving a try.

Grade: B-

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