There’s No Mix Here: It’s a Straight-down-the-line Sokoban
It’s taken me a little while, but I think I’ve finally clued into sokobans. I can look at a layout and spot the wider ‘turning points’ where you need to maneuver an awkward block around. I can spot the crate that’s the trouble-maker, the one that will need to be done last, or slotted into a very specific goal. I’m making sure to touch wood right now, but I actually think I’m getting good at them.
It’s taken me long enough. I’ve played six or seven sokobans this year alone. But that doesn’t stop the sensation of feeling great about myself. Puzzles that would have taken me a half hour are now swept away in a few minutes. I’m not quite the Crate-Pushing King, but maybe lower nobility. The Count of Crate-Pushing.
More like the Sokoban Serf
Meowgic Mix was a good test of my newfound sokoban skills. It’s another release from Afil Games, so I knew what I was getting into: thirty puzzles of increasing difficulty, starting with one crate and one goal and working up to six of each. It would be £4.19 for the privilege and I’d end up with 2000G after maybe the tenth level.
My rule of thumb with an Afil sokoban is if I get stuck before level 15, then either I am rubbish or the sokoban is harder than usual. Or some combination of the two. Meowgic Mix didn’t start hurting until level 20, which I’m going to take as an absolute win. I’m getting better at sokoban, and it’s got nothing to do with Meowgic Mix being on the easy side.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: Meowgic Mix is not diverging from the formula that Afil Games have perfected many games back. There is no new mechanic, no twist or turn, no item of note. This is very much a ‘more of the same’ sokoban. Its aim, you have to suspect, is to deliver more puzzle layouts for sokoban enthusiasts (I am yet to meet one, but I’d like to) and to win potential new players over thanks to a cute cat.
A Sokoban That Gives us Paws
The cat, I suppose, is rather cute. It flies on a tome, which is a neat party trick. I am guessing a little here, but I think the cat is meant to be a wizard or witch of some form, as they are also pushing potions into cauldrons (nothing gets past me). The potions are the traditional blocks and the cauldrons the goals.
The presentation is fine and clear: about what we’ve come to expect from the team. There are satisfying clinks as you push the potions around, and the levels are framed with wizard paraphernalia. We’d have taken a little more character or story – the Sokobear series comes to mind as a series that gets this right – but we’ve come to terms with what we get from this sokoban series.
Which is, of course, its biggest failing. Meowgic Mix plops off the factory line without anything to distinguish it. It’s the puzzling equivalent of a McDonalds cheeseburger. It’s more a product than a work of art. I do really like a McDonalds’ cheeseburger, but I can’t exactly hold it aloft as the pinnacle of cuisine.
Now We’re Hungry…for Something New
We have the same wish-list as we always do. We would love a skip function, or a hint system. We would like some new toy to tinker with, something beyond just crates. We would appreciate collectibles or move counters, to get us thinking about how we play. And there’s room between the levels: why not drop in something humorous and a dollop of story? Give us unlockables. Put the cat in a hat.
Instead, we just have to shrug and appreciate it for what it is. Meowgic Mix is a solid, well-made sokoban that excels most in its puzzle design. The layouts are as clever as ever. While we might look under the cushions and round the back of the sofa for something else – a new mechanic, a different way to play – we know in our hearts that it’s not going to happen. We will have to make do with cats and crates.
Important Links
Meowgic Mix Brews Up Cozy Puzzle Fun On PC & Console – https://www.thexboxhub.com/meowgic-mix-brews-up-cozy-puzzle-fun-on-pc-console/
Buy from the Xbox Store, Optimised for Series X|S – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/meowgic-mix-xbox-series/9N8LDJM6KSXZ/0010
Buy for Xbox One – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/meowgic-mix-xbox-one/9N8DPJ1QB6N4/0010
Grab a Windows PC version – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/meowgic-mix-windows/9PNGQB9LB0LW/0010
