In a time when online multiplayer was still relegated to a certain number of products, video games of various genres were released on store shelves with the task of being able to spend days in the company of friends or relatives. Products like Mario Party, Sing Party, Buzz, Crash Team Racing, Mario Kart or Rayman Raving Rabbids are just a few of the many examples that immediately come to mind. Unfortunately, with the passage of time and the increasing diffusion of online gaming, fewer works have begun to offer this possibility, ending up becoming less central within the videogame industry. There are however developers who still try to emphasize on certain elements, and that's just what the guys from Seed by Seed they did with theirs Pile Up! Box by Box.
A world of happiness
Unlike many other products, the title published by HandyGames it does not present an actual plot or any real pretext to start the adventure. Set in a world entirely made of cardboard, the player must control a box with the task of helping various inhabitants of the island to solve their problems. There is therefore no enemy to fight that threatens the fate of the world, but the simple desire to help others in order to create a better environment. The level design fully respects this philosophy of the developers, with the complete absence of even the most basic of combat systems focusing solely on environmental puzzles. In fact, the player is only able to jump and move objects, effectively limiting the possibilities offered to the experience. This does not go to the disadvantage of the product, also given that the developers have tried everything to make the experience varied while remaining faithful to its concept. An example of this comes from object boxes, which have unique functions such as those that produce the effects of a bomb or a fire extinguisher.
Also, Pile Up! Box by Box challenges the player by asking to exploit their mind and the surrounding world. To be able to put out the fires in the theater, cross lakes in the forest or reach high heights in the cinema, the game invites you to find your own solutions without any kind of remorse. Creativity is therefore the basis of the experience, in which the user must exploit the surrounding elements or those of the rooms previously addressed. However, it may happen that, due to actions carried out incorrectly, the title gets stuck in a real deadlock, thus preventing you from going beyond a certain area. Fortunately, the team has also thought about this eventuality, allowing to reload the rooms in order to go back in time and remedy their mistakes. Unfortunately, this mechanic does not always work perfectly, risking to pass walls or load objects in the wrong order. Hopefully, this will be resolved with some future update, since there are no other serious glitches or bugs whatsoever. Indeed, the engine Unity is exploited properly in all its possibilities, displaying a work that is very pleasing to the eye and, in some ways, immortal at a glance.
Let's have fun in company
The whole experience can be dealt with entirely in single player, but this leads to some problems structuring them that lengthen the broth and nothing more. Already from two players, this feeling is not felt resulting in a much more enjoyable and fun gameplay. Too bad for the lack of an online component official, if not through the function of the Steam Remote Play, thus preventing you from being able to play with friends interested in the work in question. We are certainly happy to see products that encourage a gathering in company or / and family, but an option to be able to play online would be especially suitable for the current world situation. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to make the service offered by Steam work as it should, leaving that category of users aside.
In addition to the main adventure, a series of minigames multiplayer only. These prove to be some of the funniest parts of the whole play, where he is accomplished in an attempt to play basketball or baseball. In order to unlock them, however, in the levels it is required to collect hidden cabinets in particularly predictable areas. To tell the truth, within this work there are different genres of collectable like some particular cubes or some gears. Obviously you don't have to collect them for the mere taste of completeness, but they allow you to earn costumes as well as real ones. secret sections. We do not want to reveal the content of these secondary areas in advance, but we would like to point out that one special reward wait for anyone who will reach 100% completion of the work. Unfortunately, the latter task is all too simple, partly ruining the player's experience. We understand that the product wants to be suitable for every genre of gamer, but a greater challenge for its optional part would certainly have been welcome.
As we have already mentioned previously, the developers have been able to hit the mark in terms of the visual sector thanks to a refined style and an out of the ordinary attention to detail. For this we are sorry to write that the sound compartment it is its complete opposite, with a soundtrack that immediately proves to be bland and repetitive. The game still allows you to lower the volume to zero, thus risking to lose the feeling and identification that the product would like to try. Instead, the presence of one is excellent translation into several languages, in the little text present, as well as the optimization that allows it to work quietly even in less performing systems. Finally, we point out that the title is compatible with both keyboard and controller, without any kind of imput lag to ruin the playful experience of the package.
