Given how much I loved the original Pullblox (it was called Pushmo in america, and is different in different territories) I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a Pushmo for the Wii U. What I’d lose in portability I’d certainly make up for in visuals and the sheer quantity of puzzles to solve. Suffice to say, Pullblox World met me expectations, and even advanced on them.
First up, the game is no different than the 3DS version that I reviewed many years ago. You play as Mallo, a little red sumo wrestler character that must save children that have managed to get themselves trapped on top of elaborate structures. These structures can only be pulled out a maximum of 3 spaces, meaning it’s up to your own ingenuity to discover the best method (and sometimes only method) of getting to the top of the puzzle and rescuing the children.
So whilst the mechanics are the same, the puzzles are far from similar. The sheer amount of complexity and variety on offer in this Wii U version is just staggering, with some puzzles being quite abstract (i.e. normal shapes you have to overcome) to crazy sceneries, to even nintendo characters themselves being climbable. It’s insane, but oh so entertaining trying to figure out how to move blocks in order to make your way up.
One thing that has changed since the original: The complexity. There were so many times me and my other half would be starring at the screen for hours, wondering how best to move blocks out to get to the top. It’s infuriating, but genuinely gratifying when you overcome a challenge.
Once we had finished the original 120 stages, we found there were another 30 special stages, along with 2 other modes: challenge mode (where blocks of the same colour all move out at the same time), and online mode. All in all there’s 250 new puzzles to conquer, and whilst I’m writing this review having only completed 140ish, I can’t help but feel me and my other half will continue to play this for the foreseeable future, having already put in 10 hours + so far.
Graphics haven’t really changed since the portable version, with one of the only visible upgrades being the amount of polish in character and stage models. One improvement that does stand out is the new stage sizes. Where 3DS levels were relatively small, the Wii U versions are monstrosities, taking 15-20 seconds to walk from one end to the other. This sheer size can sometimes cause confusion, especially when you have to take into account elements from the other side of the puzzle when you’re half way up.
The music is just as enticing as always, with the gorgeous cute charming music keeping you humming for hours. I found myself constantly shouting out the theme tune to levels well beyond completing them, much to the irritation of my other half.
So all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with Pullblox world. It’s more of the same, but when the original was so damn good, who can blame me for enjoying the second? Should you have a Wii U, you owe it to yourself to own Pullblox World, especially with it only being £8.99.
p.s. Apologies for this review being so short, it’s hard to write 1000 words on a game that has such a simple premise, no matter how good it is!
4/5