Common Sense Media Review
Bright VR puzzler has cute characters, inspires creativity.
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Squishies
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
SQUISHIES is a virtual reality puzzle platform game full of color and creativity. This is a world inhabited by wacky little balls of personality known as "Squishies". These roly-poly bundles of fun are living a carefree life, but they could use a little extra help to find their way home. This is where you come in. Teaming with your dual Alien Fish Friends, it's up to you to push and pull the Squishies through more than 100 different levels, rolling them down hills, bouncing them off springs, and being the literal wind in their sails. You need to help save the Squishies and then try your hand at crafting your own unique puzzles using the in-game editor. You can also build your own challenging maps and share them with the online community while taking other players' creations for a test spin.
Is It Any Good?
In a world where video games get more and more complicated, sometimes the simplest ideas are still the most fun. Squishies is a great example of this train of thought. The premise is about as basic as can be. Using two wands, you either suck or blow streams of air to maneuver little balls around from Point A to Point B in a 3D environment. Sure, the wands are weird alien space fish and the balls have eyes and teeth and make goofy little sounds as you push them around, but that just adds to the quirky appeal of the game.
The premise behind Squishies might be simple, but don't think for a second that it's easy. You need to think carefully when you're guiding the Squishies back to their home. Whether it's blowing on a dandelion seed to reach a higher plateau or keeping a precarious balance while crossing over a vast ocean, you need to have plenty of patience and practice to make it through the game's 100+ level strong Story mode. While the controls aren't exactly the most precise, the way they're used in the game (the fish blowing and sucking air) feels strangely intuitive. And despite the difficulty, even the toughest stages never quite reach the feeling of frustration. Each time you play, you can't help but feel like you're making just a bit more progress and feel motivated to get just a little further along. It also serves as great inspiration once you start to use the game's Level Editor. Building stages in VR feels like you're crafting something that's genuinely substantial. It's a creative playground that tests both your imagination and your ingenuity.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about VR technology. How has virtual reality evolved over the years? What are some of ways to use VR for entertainment, and what are of practical uses for the technology?
How do features like level editors help to encourage gamers' creativity? What are some ways to further encourage an interest in game development?
Game Details
- Platform : PlayStation VR
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Brainseed Factory
- Release date : November 20, 2018
- Genre : Puzzle
- Topics : Dinosaurs , Magic and Fantasy , Space and Aliens
- ESRB rating : E for No Descriptions
- Last updated : October 15, 2021
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