Sokobond
Designer(s)
  • Alan Hazelden
  • Harry Lee
Programmer(s)Alan Hazelden
Artist(s)Harry Lee
Composer(s)Allison Walker
Platform(s)
Release
  • Linux, OS X, Windows
  • 27 August 2013
  • Nintendo Switch
  • 2 September 2021
  • iOS, Android
  • 19 May 2022
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Sokobond is a puzzle video game created by Alan Hazelden and Harry Lee. Gameplay involves moving atoms around 2D grids to form chemical compounds. The game was released on Linux, OS X, and Windows in August 2013. It was later released for Nintendo Switch in September 2021, and iOS and Android in May 2022. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics.

Gameplay

Sokobond is a Sokoban-style puzzle video game themed around creating chemical compounds from atoms.[1] In each level, the player is presented with a 2D grid containing walls and atoms. The player controls one of the atoms, and moves it around the level. Moving atoms next to each other bonds them, and the two atoms then move together as a compound.[2] There are five elements introduced: carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and helium, able to form four, three, two, one, and zero bonds respectively.[3]

There are a total of 105 levels, grouped into sections with themed challenges.[4] Mechanics introduced in later sections include introducing objects that can remove bonds, increase the order of a bond, or rearrange bonded molecules.[3]

Development and release

Sokobond was created by independent developers Alan Hazelden and Harry Lee.[5] The game's music was composed by Allison Walker.[6] The game was released on Linux, OS X, Windows-based personal computers on 27 August 2013.[3] The game was later released on the digital distribution service Steam,[5] after being greenlit by the community.[7] On 2 September 2021, the game was released on Nintendo Switch.[8] It was ported to iOS and Android on 19 May 2022.[9]

Sokobond Express, a mashup of Sokobond and Alan Hazelden's Cosmic Express, was announced on 27 July 2021.[10]

Reception

Sokobond received "generally favorable" reviews from professional critics according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[11]

Reviewers generally praised its chemistry theming as aiding in grasping the game's abstractions, without requiring the player to understand chemistry.[12][3] They also praised Sokobond's minimalism, both in terms of visual design and level design. Eurogamer appreciated that the game added difficulty without increasing the number of elements in a level.[13] Killscreen commented that the game managed to reuse its few elements in many intriguing ways.[14] Destructoid found that the simplicity of the art and sound direction elegantly mirrored the simplicity of the gameplay.[3]

The game was favorably compared to its inspiration Sokoban. Eurogamer opined that the theming of levels around mechanics and nonlinear level progression made it better.[13] Rock Paper Shotgun contrasted it with the frustrating nature of Sokoban levels.[15] Hardcore Gaming 101 compared Sokobond to other indie puzzlers, finding that although the game didn't do much differently in terms of general design, its usage of player freedom through its grid-based movement introduced a new component of the game's difficulty.[4]

The game was showcased as a finalist in the 2013 IndieCade festival, and received an honorable mention in the 2014 Independent Games Festival in the category "Excellence in Audio".[16][17]

References

  1. ↑ O'Connor, Alice (22 July 2014). "H2O: Chemical Puzzler Sokobond Now on Steam". Rock Paper Shotgun.
  2. ↑ Savage, Phil (15 July 2014). "Clever chemistry puzzler Sokobond comes to Steam next week". PC Gamer.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nakamura, Darren (23 July 2014). "Review: Sokobond". Destructoid. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  4. 1 2 Kaharl, Jonathan (14 July 2017). "Sokobond". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018.
  5. 1 2 Donlan, Christian (21 July 2014). "Brilliant chemistry puzzler Sokobond hits Steam today". Eurogamer. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  6. ↑ "Sokobond Presskit". Sokobond. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  7. ↑ Carlson, Patrick (3 September 2013). "New indie puzzler Sokobond could be your next chemistry teacher". PC Gamer. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  8. ↑ Grey, Kate (27 July 2021). "Devilishly Tricky Puzzle Game 'Sokobond' is Sliding Onto Switch This Autumn". Nintendo Life.
  9. ↑ Nelson, Jared (19 May 2022). "Our Long National Nightmare is over: 'Sokobond' is Finally Available on Mobile – TouchArcade". Touch Arcade.
  10. ↑ Smith, Graham (27 July 2021). "A Monster's Expedition expansion and Sokobond Express announced". Rock Paper Shotgun.
  11. 1 2 "Sokobond for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  12. 1 2 "Sokobond Review". Edge Online. 4 October 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
  13. 1 2 3 Wiltshire, Alex (16 September 2013). "Sokobond review". Eurogamer.
  14. 1 2 Michal, Nick (August 2014). "A review of Sokobond, a (Fun, we promise) game about chemistry". Killscreen.
  15. ↑ Bell, Alice (10 March 2023). "The best puzzle games on PC". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015.
  16. ↑ McElroy, Griffin (11 September 2013). "IndieCade 2013 finalists revealed, include Gone Home, TowerFall and more". Polygon.
  17. ↑ Hinkle, David (8 January 2014). "IGF 2014 finalists: Device 6, Papers, Please, Don't Starve, the Stanley Parable, more". Engadget.
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