I’ve noticed recently that gaming media types are likely to ignore puzzle games in our coverage unless we work for a publication that specializes in the genre. I was reminded of this this summer when I was judging the European Independent Cup and saw someone (namely Hemisquare) submit a cute puzzle game called Nurikabe World. I am Convinced I was informed that this game was a candidate for the shortlist, only to find that not many other voters were as enthusiastic about it as I was. It’s not that they don’t think it looks good; It’s just that for many people, it’s unimaginable that a simple puzzle game could be so amazing compared to popular games like RPGs and roguelikes.
I don’t know about you, but the amount of time I play puzzle games is disproportionate to how often I actually talk about them when discussing my hobby or in general conversations about the gaming industry. So I’m really excited to see Nurikabe World submitted to October’s Steam Next Fest, as it gives me the perfect excuse to rhapsodize about the wonderfully relaxing time I’ve had with it, and I think you will too .
Now, while I’ve never played it before, I know that Nurikabe isn’t a new game per se; Its pen-and-paper iteration has been popular since the early 1990s, and its simple grid structure will likely remind you of Sudoku, although the two games don’t share anything mechanically apart from being the same game. Too many similarities. Logic puzzle.
The concept behind Nurikabe is that using the numbers given on the grid, you need to map out a series of islands corresponding to those numbers in a network of connected rivers – no The pool is too deep and wide to be a river, so illegal.
In fact, Nurikabe World does a good job of teaching you the rules of the game in its tutorials, so even complete beginners will get up to speed quickly. You’ll be glad you did, because while Nurikabe World isn’t the first video game to digitize Nurikabe, it’s the only one I’ve seen that sees this relaxing “let’s arrange islands and rivers” concept and continue with examples. “Sounds like it would look really nice on PC.”
While traditional Nurikabe games are played on a simple black-and-white grid, Nurikabe World is set on a gorgeous full-color map, rewarding successfully building an island with small dioramas sprouting on it. Nurikabe World offers different collections of puzzles for different seasons of the year, allowing you to experience the Japanese landscape in miniature: cherry blossom trees, bamboo groves, torii gates, shrines and pagodas, as well as peaceful rural landscapes with houses surrounded by spikes and rocks. garden.
They’re kind of like a dynamic version of the illustrative resource tiles you get in Civilization or Catan, but instead of sucking everything in sight into your city-building, you admire this before moving on. A moment of beauty. Complete the next puzzle at your own pace. Each completed square closely resembles the scene inside the snow globe. Add to that the kind of soothing soft music you rarely hear outside of a spa—always with slight variations to suit the current gaming season—and you get a game that’s simply enjoyable, whether In both senses.
Nurikabe World doesn’t have a release date yet, but you can play the demo on Steam right now. The full game is designed to include daily puzzles and infinite modes, as well as themed puzzle sequence activities like the one shown in this demo, and a level editor that allows you to create and share your own puzzles.
