I am not a fan of Sokoban puzzle games. I think too many in this subgenre rely on irritatingly specific solutions and end up being more about positioning yourself rather than working with a game's mechanics to understand a solution. Add in elements of spatial uncertainty and Patrick's Parabox sounds nightmarish by construction. But after checking out his previous game (Linelith, which I highly recommend), I needed to give this title a fair shake, and it is easily the best Sokoban game you can play right now.
Right off the bat, Patrick's Parabox doesn't restrict you as a player. You frequently have free reign to solve puzzles in whatever order you want, and you only need to solve the bare minimum of puzzles in one area to move onto the next. Even when I was hopelessly stuck, I never felt trapped since I had many other conundrums to work out instead. There are also options if needed to unlock all puzzles and solve as you wish, but I personally felt content with the pace of the game's natural process.
Patrick's Parabox maintains the Sokoban standards of pushing blocks into a desired position, but the main gimmick is that many boxes are collapsable on themselves or can create infinite loops, allowing you to bend space and push blocks and access corners you normally couldn't. I was consistently surprised at the depth some boxes could provide mechanically, and with over 300 puzzles, there are tons of extremely clever ideas that are gradually and intellectually expanded upon. An early idea teaches you that boxes will move into the center when pushed, and soon you will be exiting one looping paradox to use this center idea to shove a box into an impossible pathway. The simple presentation is always a misdirect from the complex, but never unfair thought process you must have to find a way to a correct solve. I was floored by how little a puzzle gave you to finish it and how much you could actually do with the tools you're handed, but I was equally stumped as often, finding myself toying with directions and boxes in any way I could.
Patrick's Parabox is a marvelous title. There is no story; this is a pure puzzler. And while some of the late and post game puzzles are borderline neuroticly difficult, I really enjoyed reaching the credits on PP and hope to play more innovative games from Patrick Traynor in the future.
Right off the bat, Patrick's Parabox doesn't restrict you as a player. You frequently have free reign to solve puzzles in whatever order you want, and you only need to solve the bare minimum of puzzles in one area to move onto the next. Even when I was hopelessly stuck, I never felt trapped since I had many other conundrums to work out instead. There are also options if needed to unlock all puzzles and solve as you wish, but I personally felt content with the pace of the game's natural process.
Patrick's Parabox maintains the Sokoban standards of pushing blocks into a desired position, but the main gimmick is that many boxes are collapsable on themselves or can create infinite loops, allowing you to bend space and push blocks and access corners you normally couldn't. I was consistently surprised at the depth some boxes could provide mechanically, and with over 300 puzzles, there are tons of extremely clever ideas that are gradually and intellectually expanded upon. An early idea teaches you that boxes will move into the center when pushed, and soon you will be exiting one looping paradox to use this center idea to shove a box into an impossible pathway. The simple presentation is always a misdirect from the complex, but never unfair thought process you must have to find a way to a correct solve. I was floored by how little a puzzle gave you to finish it and how much you could actually do with the tools you're handed, but I was equally stumped as often, finding myself toying with directions and boxes in any way I could.
Patrick's Parabox is a marvelous title. There is no story; this is a pure puzzler. And while some of the late and post game puzzles are borderline neuroticly difficult, I really enjoyed reaching the credits on PP and hope to play more innovative games from Patrick Traynor in the future.