Psychoban – Superb 3D Puzzler with Hilarious Characters, Dark Humor & Tempting Plot
by Paul Wilks
Aug 13, 2011 10:14 AM –
Install
Psychoban is a superb puzzler with hilarious characters, some very twisted humor and incredibly challenging gameplay. Immerse yourself in an eerie world of lunatic asylums and see if you can find your way out. The sound, 3D graphics, intriguing plot and vast gameplay all contribute to an awesome puzzle-game experience.
Price: Free, with in-game options to buy further levels.
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Gorgeous 3D graphics.
- Extremely challenging gameplay.
- Brilliant characters and humor.
- Lots of levels available.
- Effective sound.
- OpenFeint achievements.
Cons
- There are only 6 free levels, which might not be enough to encourage investment in the later levels.
- The return button (which puts you back a move) can be a little temperamental.
Features:
Sokoban, for the uninitiated, is a Japanese puzzle game where you must move blocks around a board in order to place them in certain spots. Usually in 2D, the puzzles can be incredibly challenging and moving blocks in the right order to the right spots is crucial for gamers to complete the level. A logical and methodological mind is needed if not an essential. Psychoban however, takes this concept and injects it with gloppy buckets of dark humor, twisted characters and 3D Sokoban puzzles that can test even the most seasoned gamer.
You wake up lobotomised in a mysterious hospital and, with the direction of some equally mental characters, you must complete the puzzles to move to the next room. There are 10 levels per location; you begin in a hospital then move onto a creepy mansion, a condemned prison and finally the electroshock institute. Complete all these and there are 2 more locations to try; the temple and the buddy box challenges. In total then there are 60 levels of this demented puzzler to work through, just make sure you keep hold of your sanity!
So, the basic concept behind the game is to make your character move different boxes around a room in order to place them on certain spots. You cannot pull boxes and pushing boxes into certain areas mean you might not be able to move them again. Unlike the original Sokoban, Psychoban is in 3D, so boxes can be moved down to certain levels in order to complete the puzzles. This (literally) adds a new dimension to the game and increases the difficulty. As you progress through the levels and locations this difficulty increases.
However, you become really driven to finish each puzzle by the fantastic and hilarious story-line that has been intelligently weaved into the game. The humor is quite dark but very funny, involves mad characters and a intriguing plot which is gradually revealed as you progress. This makes the game incredibly immersive and this kind of attention to plot detail and humor is incredibly refreshing to see in games. The story is played via old-skool scrolling dialogue boxes, so there is almost an RPG feel about the game. Your straight-jacketed little character, who regularly falls asleep standing up and scratches himself with his feet, is a dribbling little patient whose determined scurrying is quite endearing in its own way.
The challenge of completing the puzzles is really quite tough and extra blocks are introduced to make it harder as you make your way through the levels. Alone, the game could perhaps be almost too tricky and frustrating, but with the great story line, demented humor and fun characters Psychoban becomes an absolute winner. I wouldn’t call it a casual endeavor playing this game, while the first few levels are quite straight forward the game gets very hard indeed and will need to take some ingenuity and mental agility to get through it. But with so much reward, its easy to get stuck into and lots of fun.
Watch on Mobile
-
-
Psychoban – Creepy Mansion (1)
-
-
Psychoban – Creepy Mansion (2)
-
-
Psychoban – Creepy Mansion (3)
-
-
Psychoban – Electroshock Institute (1)
-
-
Psychoban – Electroshock Institute (2)
-
-
Psychoban – Electroshock Institute (3)
-
-
Psychoban – Get all the blocks onto the green crosses to complete the level and escape the room
-
-
Psychoban – Brilliant humor throughout
-
-
Psychoban – Buddy Box Challenge
-
-
Psychoban – Early tutorial levels take place in the hospital you wake up in
-
-
Psychoban – Learn different ways to move the blocks
-
-
Psychoban – Temple Challenge mode
-
-
Psychoban – Tutorial
-
-
Psychoban – Asylum select screen
-
-
-
-
Psychoban – Mode select
-
-
Psychoban – Menu screen
-
-
Psychoban – Comic strip
-
-
Psychoban – Intro screen
-
-
Psychoban – Extras
-
Fun Factor:
For a puzzle game there is lots of fun to be had in Psychoban even if puzzle games are perhaps not your thing. The story and characters are great and add so much to the game. The comedy elements of the it are very well done and make for a hugely enjoyable gaming experience. There are also extras within the game which include some very cool comic strips, definitely worth checking out.
Addictive:
There are only 6 free levels and I’m not sure if this will be enough to tip people into buying more, which is a massive shame as the game is quite original in its blend of puzzle, humor and plot. Investment in the later levels is absolutely worth the money. The game becomes more and more addictive as you progress and the challenge of the different and ingenious puzzles, in addition to wanting to know what will happen next in the story, it drive you to return to the game again and again.
Graphics:
The 3D graphics are fantastic, dripping with detail and visual humor. I especially like when your character scratches himself under the chin with his feet!
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The sound has the right blend of eeriness and mock-horror. You have the snoring sounds when your guy falls asleep or scratches himself, doors opening and closing, blocks moving, etc. It really adds to the immersion factor of the game.