Sokobond Switch Review – Chemically Astounding!

Puzzle games are as old a genre as they come. They predate video games by hundreds and hundreds of years, but the video game medium has given the genre the ability to be so much more than they ever were before. Sokobond is no different, and it combines education with some mind-bending puzzles as you combine elements to create chemical compounds, learning some fun facts in the process.

But is this a science test that will truly challenge the mind? Or are these puzzles less than the compounds they say they represent? Let’s find out!

Sokobond is a beautiful and elegant puzzle title that uses minimalism to an expert level. Each puzzle presents you with elements from the Periodic Table, and it is your goal to combine these elements to create compounds. You start off with some simple ones, like combining two hydrogen with one oxygen, and voila! You solved the puzzle and made H20, also known as water, and then the game gives you a fun fact about the compound you just created.

The game is organized in a fun and scientific way that adds new elements as you progress, which allows you to create even more complex compounds like CH3OH (Methanol) and NH2OH (Hydroxylamine) before the game takes you to different color palettes that introduce new puzzle ideas for the compounds like using a helium ball to strategically move other pieces around without attaching to them and the use of plus and minus symbols to add strong connections or disconnect completely.

No matter where you are in Sokobond, it continues to find ways to puzzle you and educate you at the same time. It is a fascinating approach to spacial puzzle solving that makes for some real head-scratchers while also giving you a glimmer or hope and excitement due to the minimalistic design and educational rewards after every solved puzzle.

There is pure ecstasy when playing Sokobond. We have been inundated with overly complex and all-too-busy puzzle games over the years that when you come across something like this, it is simply a breath of fresh air. Puzzle titles are also a dime a dozen these days, and many of the options available on the Nintendo Switch fail to provide a proper challenge and a real stretching of the mind.

Enter titles like Sokobond that return us to simplicity while also pushing our brains in a new direction. The puzzle layouts here are incredible, and they are expertly designed to force you to think outside of the box while also not thinking too hard about it. It is a brilliant balance, and what I was left with is a serene puzzle experience that I could not wait to continue.

The soundtrack and the effects are very zen-like which caters perfectly to the style at hand, and I cannot express to you just how pleasantly surprised I was to play such a wonderfully made title. From cover to cover, this is one of my favorite puzzle games in recent memory and the first one this year that truly captured my attention in every way.

With Sokobond, you are truly getting a masterfully educational puzzle experience. There are over 100 puzzles to solve, with the latter bunch being incredibly challenging and unbelievably satisfactory to figure out. Learning the extents of the various additions to the puzzles like the helium ball, plus and minus signs, and turning points mixe up the gameplay in such a lovely way that it genuinely keeps things fresh from beginning to end.

This may be one of the best puzzle titles I have ever played, and it would be wrong of me to not recommend Sokobond to the highest degree. It hits all the buttons perfectly, and it is beyond worth the asking price.

If you are a puzzle aficionado, then Sokobond is the one you have been waiting for. Not only is this a terrific gaming experience, but the education it brings will teach young people and remind the older audience of the magic of science.

Sokobond Review provided by Nintendo Link
Publisher: Draknek & Friends
Developer: Draknek
Release Date: September 2nd, 2021
Price: $9.99, £7.39, €8,19
Game Size: 301 MB