Maggie the Magnet

Genre: Puzzle-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Maggie the Magnet is a family-friendly physics-based Puzzle-Platformer released in 2022 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. In this game, players control the titular magnet by turning on and off their magnetism, using another magnet in the environment to move, as well as the contours of the level and other mechanisms within each level. Using this, players are tasked with collecting bolts in each level and making their way to an exit.

It’s a simple formula, and I believe that one clever conceit really helps to elevate this gameplay – you have no other input in the game other than turning the magnetism on and off, with pretty much the entire game’s controls coming down to just a single button. Any sort of movement or jumping needs to be accomplished by timing your use of this ability. As a result, this game’s physics play a huge part in the gameplay, with players having to learn to fling themselves around each room simply by knowing when to hold and release the button and activate the magnetism.

Another element that contributes greatly to this gameplay is some really excellent level design that not only properly eases you into learning how to control this limited ability, but that also provides a steadily-increasing difficulty curve, with a good amount of variety as new gameplay elements are regularly introduced. There are even hidden levels to be found as well.

Much as the gameplay builds on a simple concept, so too is the presentation fairly simple, with the game using simple, clean cartoony 2D visuals, with a few different alternate palettes they can freely swap between. This is backed by bouncy, whimsical music that reminded me a bit of the Banjo-Kazooie soundtrack, though there was nothing here that was quite so memorable as that classic soundtrack.

Despite Maggie the Magnet’s small $5 price tag, this game contains 150 levels (plus aforementioned hidden bonus levels), which is quite a lot of value, especially when the gameplay and level design is as well crafted as this game’s is. If you’re a fan of Puzzle games, this is an easy choice for a pickup, as it is well worth its modest price tag.

tl;dr – Maggie the Magnet is a family-friendly physics-based Puzzle-Platformer where players control a magnet by turning on and off its magnetism. The simple one-button gameplay is well-crafted, and combines with excellent level design to make for a thoroughly enjoyable Puzzle game, with a surprisingly hefty amount of content for its small $5 price tag. If you’re a fan of Puzzle games, Maggie the Magnet is well worth picking up.

Grade: B+

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