As evidenced by the heaps of bite-sized items (witness Mini Oreos and Ritz Bitz) foisted upon us by advertising, everything's better in miniature. Well if tiny food is cool, why not tiny robots? Puzzle Bots, the new adventure game Wadjeteye Games asks you to solve the mystery at Dr. Hugo's robot factory using a team of itty-bitty, teeny-weeny, cute-as-a-button robots.
Owned by a group of kooky, googly-eyed robot inventors, your 'bots' main goal at first is to show up the other robots by being the coolest, cleverest, most state-of-the-art mech in the factory. What the humans don't know is, every time they turn their backs, the 'bots venture out of their cute little holding pen into the wider world. What starts as a series of field trips for the tiny 'bots becomes an investigation into the factory's shady past. Collectively using their individual unique skills, they work together to uncover the truth.
Meanwhile, the humans remain totally clueless. Hapless hero Zander is too busy making goo-goo eyes at the new girl while his faithful friend and coworker Yuriko harbors a secret crush on him. They and the other employees of Dr. Hugo's factory do what people normally do at the office rather than work--hang out, drink coffee, gossip, bicker and hit on each other--seemingly unaware that danger is steadily sneaking up on them.
Puzzle Bots offers a unique take on puzzle solving and adventure gameplay. Playing most of time as a group of five tiny bots with different abilities--lifting, pushing, bombing, towing and lighting things on fire--you have to use the 'bots skills in conjunction with one another in order to progress. The game's puzzle design is clever without becoming too difficult and pacing throughout is good.
The game's art is fairly basic, relying mainly on a stylized, almost Simpsons-ish approach to character design. Sound too is competent if unspectacular, consisting mostly of so-so voice acting. Luckily, the writing in general is good and humorous enough to frequently put a smile on your face.
Puzzle Bots, with its mix of adventure and not-too-difficult puzzle play is a good crossover title for anyone looking to move from strictly casual fare to the more traditional adventure genre. And if you have craving for tiny robots that won't be denied, then Puzzle Bots was made for you. Get Puzzle Bots now on the Wadjeteye Games website for $9.99.
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