Buy Sokobond

I have a feeling this is going to be useful in my chemistry class. Very relaxing game, and very fun.

When I hear Zach Barth say that a puzzle game made him want to stab himself, I expect that game to be made from the stuff of Satan's nightmares. As it turns out, Sokobond is made from more palatable material, and Zach's quote is made from hyperbole. This is not a criticism, mind you - when you have 124 puzzles in your game, you don't want inordinately difficult roadblocks impeding access to the rest of them. Progression is handled by way of a grid in which each puzzle is represented by a square and successfully completing it unlocks adjacent squares. The challenge curves out nicely, and if there was one puzzle I had grown tired of there were usually at least a half dozen others I could divert myself to.

The trailer shows you pretty much everything you need to know about the game mechanics. In every puzzle you take control of a single molecule which has a certain number of bonds it can make - anywhere from 1 to 4 - and will automatically bond with any molecule it comes into contact with, provided that that molecule also has spare bonds available. If it doesn't, then you are able to push that molecule elsewhere in the level. At fixed points in the environment are spaces which will separate bonded molecules, increase the strength of molecules' bonds (i.e. if 2 molecules are bonded, and each have another bond spare, running them through such a space will remove the spares by giving them a double bond), and reorientate the molecules' positions. That's it. It's essentially a block-pushing game with a novel twist.

The goal is to connect all of the provided molecules in such a way that there are no remaining bonds. In some levels the challenge lies in working out in what order and in what arrangement a small number of molecules need to be collected and placed to use all their bonds, while in others the challenge lies in piloting a huge snaking line of molecules around a very limited space, making sure that certain parts of its body never touch others in order to avoid undesired bonds. Some levels even see you take control of helium, which has 0 bonds available, meaning that you can only create the end product indirectly, via environmental manipulation. Though, as other reviewers have pointed out, the chemicals you will be making are frequently the same, the way in which you make them is always fresh and different - no small feat, given the amount of content on offer.

I enjoyed my time with Sokobond and would recommend it to anyone looking for an intermediate level of challenge. It's certainly not even in the same universe of hellish difficulty as Zachtronics games. It's not the most amazing or memorable puzzle game I've ever played, but it is thoughtful and well designed.

Overall score: 3.5/5

As a footnote, I'd like to say that I did not enjoy the bonus levels unlocked upon completion of the other 124, however as they are presented in the context of a bonus this did not affect my opinion of the game one way or the other. I will talk about them anyway, because they serve to illustrate the difference in 'feel' regarding the sort of puzzles I enjoy, which is useful info if you share similar preferences. The bonus levels adhere to the 'needle in a haystack' school of puzzle design, in which there is only one route to the solution and a single misstep will render the puzzle unsolvable, however this will not be apparent until several steps further down the line, leaving you to wonder which of the many previous moves you have made was the wrong one. With a few exceptions, the main game's puzzles allow you enough leeway to experiment and come upon an 'a-ha!' moment organically, and if it has become unsolvable this will be immediately apparent. The latter feels as if I'm slowly being guided to a solution via process of elimination, while the former gives no feedback whatsoever, making it more frustrating than fun. The great majority of the puzzles in Sokobond are fun.

Never has Chemistry been so entertaining

10/10 would split atoms again

Great game with really evil puzzles

Sokobond is an awesome game that is fun and challenging. It has lots of levels that all follow a few simple rules. The game is absolutely fantastic.

WARNING for Linux users: it requires Adobe AIR, which is not supported for Linux anymore. Check the forum discussion (http://steamcommunity.com/app/290260/discussions/0/41973821283751396/) for more info.

Aside from problems with Linux support, I found the game itself to be very good.

Reminds me of the old puzzle for DOS. Really cool with enough challenge to keep you playing but not rush the whole game in an afternoon.

Great game

The "science" element of the game is a bit overstated, though there are some interesting facts about chemical compounds revealed after you solve a puzzle. Otherwise, it's a very well-made and challenging puzzle game!

This game makes me feel stupid.