Draknek & Friends Puzzle Bundle (6 Games)

Genre: Compilation / Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: This bundle is no longer available, but its contents are included in Draknek and Friends Puzzle Bundle (2024), which contains all of the games from this bundle plus Sokobond Express.)

Draknek and Friends Puzzle Bundle (6 Games) is a Compilation of six family-friendly Puzzle games all published by Draknek. These games were all released on Nintendo Switch from 2021 through 2023, but all released previously on PC and/or mobile devices from 2013 through 2022.

Those who follow eShopperReviews may recall that I previously reviewed Draknek and Friends Puzzle Bundle, but Draknek has taken to discontinuing these bundles every time they release a new game, replacing it with a new, higher-priced bundle containing everything they’ve released. This 6 game bundle is actually the fourth such bundle to see release, and the third to release on Nintendo Switch.

Here is what I thought about the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Sokobond	Puzzle	1	B
tl;dr Sokobond is a family-friendly Puzzle Game where players push around blocks representing atomic elements with the goal of joining them all together to form a molecule. Don’t worry if your science is rusty, the gameplay here is simple and easy to pick up, but Sokobond does clever things with that simple and elegant concept. It’s nothing revolutionary, and the presentation is in no way impressive, but this game is nevertheless a superb Puzzle Game that fans of the genre should absolutely play.
A Good Snowman is Hard to Build	Puzzle	1	B-
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.
Cosmic Express	Puzzle	1	B+
tl;dr Cosmic Express is a family-friendly Puzzle Game where players create train routes in various space colonies to deliver aliens to their homes. The gameplay here is simple but well-crafted, with some really clever puzzle design. There’s also a good amount of content here, some good variety, and an adorable presentation. If you enjoy Puzzle games, this is definitely one you’ll want to get.
A Monster’s Expedition	Puzzle	1	B+
tl;dr A Monster’s Expedition is a family-friendly Puzzle Game where players take the role of a cuddly monster exploring an outdoor museum of humanity. The puzzle design is good and becomes more involved over time, the presentation is lovely with particularly good sound design, and the clever satire caused by monsters trying to understand humanity is excellent. The game can feel a bit repetitive at times, and it’s not always clear where you can and can’t reach just yet, but overall this is a superb Puzzle Game well worth playing.
Bonfire Peaks	Puzzle	1	C
tl;dr Bonfire Peaks is a family-friendly character-driven Puzzle game about setting fire to your belongings. It’s a decent entry in the genre, but nothing special, and certainly nothing that makes it worth the $20 price.
Patrick’s Parabox	Puzzle	1	B+
tl;dr Patrick’s Parabox is a Sokoban-style Puzzle game with an extremely simple presentation and gameplay built around one clever mechanic, that the boxes you’re tasked with pushing around can themselves house Sokoban-style Puzzles. It’s a clever idea that this game makes use of extraordinarily well, with some truly excellent puzzle design. Don’t be discouraged by this game’s simple visuals – this is a game that Puzzle game fans will absolutely want to get ahold of.

In short, there are a lot of good Puzzle games in this package, with the only game I’m not especially fond of being Bonfire Peaks, though even that game may have its fans. Everything else here is well worth playing, with the highlights in my opinion being Patrick’s Parabox, Cosmic Express, and A Monster’s Expedition. And despite that half of the games here are Sokoban-style block-pushing Puzzle games, there’s still more than enough variety to make each of these games distinct and interesting in its own right.

So at this point it comes down to a question of value. Draknek and Friends Puzzle Bundle (6 Games) sells for $75. For those doing the numbers, buying these games separately would cost $110, making this a pretty good value for what’s included. You could even look at it as getting the two worst games in this collection for free when buying the other four. And again, I use the word “worst” loosely here – I think Puzzle Game fans will find each of these games has something to offer.

While $75 may seem a bit pricey, Draknek and Friends Puzzle Bundle (6 Games) is actually a pretty good deal considering all the quality Puzzle games included in this package. If you’re a Puzzle Game fan who has not yet purchased one of these games, you should definitely check out this bundle.

tl;dr – Draknek and Friends Puzzle Bundle (6 Games) is a Compilation of six family-friendly Puzzle games – four of them are different takes on Sokoban-style “block pushing puzzles”, but despite this these games all remain distinct in their own right. The savings over buying the games separately is pretty good, and the overall quality of this bundle is pretty high. This package is definitely worth a look for Puzzle Game fans.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2023 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Compilation/Collection

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