This is Not the Sliding-Puzzle We Were Looking For
Oh no! I thought I would play both Slide Viking and Slide Viking: Treasure’s Path in quick succession, a double-bill of puzzle games. But that turned out to be a source of disappointment. I really shouldn’t have played them so close to each other.
I loved Slide Viking (the first game). I didn’t expect to, but it sidewinded me. It was a sliding puzzle game that dared to be different. By adding in axes which destroyed walls, it managed to up-end the usual sliding puzzle formula and actually offer something new. And the result was an unexpectedly good game. I never thought I would be handing out a 4 out of 5 to a sliding puzzle game that cost less than a fiver.
I rocked up to Slide Viking: Treasure’s Path with expectations. It’s where I went wrong. I wanted extra sliding puzzle goodness. Slide Viking was great but it left me wanting more, and here WAS more.
Dashing our Hopes and Dreams on the Rocks
What could possibly be so bad about Slide Viking: Treasure’s Path? The answer is that it isn’t a sliding-puzzle game at all. It’s a completely different sub-genre: it’s a sokoban, a crate-pushing game. Afil Games have taken what I believe to be the best game they’ve made, and gone in a completely new direction. It’s the equivalent of Rockstar Games making Red Dead Redemption 3 into a karting game. It’s not right, I tell you.
I was gutted. I’ve lost count of how many sokoban I’ve played on the Xbox Store, particularly from Afil Games, so I wasn’t exactly in the market for another one. And Slide Viking was unusual, an inspired sliding puzzle game when we weren’t inundated with them. There was room for Slide Viking 2, but instead we’ve got Sokoban 3,457.
Phew. It’s good to have that off my chest. Because Treasure’s Path certainly isn’t bad. Afil Games know how to make a compelling sokoban, and this is certainly that. The crate-pushing layouts are clever and concise (Afil Games have some extremely good puzzle designers), and their sokoban template, with exhaustive Undo and Retry features, has been polished to a sheen.
It’s also cleanly presented with some quality pixel art, and the levels are capable of getting ultra-fiendish. They escalate to the point where you have three axes and three chests on screen at once, and that can be a significant challenge. There’s barely enough room for your little viking.
We should also mention that Slide Viking: Treasure’s Path comes loaded with 2000G, and you’re going to have every last achievement at the halfway mark. For some, that may be the kicker.
Sliding into Obscurity
But the thing is, it’s not trying anything new. You’re pushing axes into chests, which is just a re-paint of Afil Games’ other sokoban. That’s where the Slide Viking disappointment cuts deepest: Slide Viking represented invention and a sense of pioneering in a new direction. Slide Viking: Treasure’s Path is the opposite. And that felt like a mini betrayal to me. The spirit of Slide Viking had been lost.
If you’re here because of Slide Viking, I’d advise you to turn back now. Treat this as a spin-off that wasn’t needed. It’s The Scorpion King to The Mummy.
One for the Sokoban Fans
If you’re here because you like an Afil Games’ sokoban, or sokoban games in general, then you may want to stick around. Slide Viking: Treasure’s Path abides by the same template as dozens of other games – the ‘Cute’ series in particular, with Cute Bonfire, The Cute Whale and Cute Astro – and that template works. There is nothing here that’s new, interesting or remarkable, but it does wile away an hour or two.
It’s just no Slide Viking, is all. And we’re going to continue to sulk about that.
Important Links
The Slide Viking Saga Continues With Treasure’s Path – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-slide-viking-saga-continues-with-treasures-path/
Buy the game, Optimised for Series X|S – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/Slide-Viking-Treasures-Path-Xbox-Series/9NZ84WNC3ZTX
Buy an Xbox One edition – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/slide-viking-treasures-path-xbox-one/9n2r7bnhtfz4
Buy for Windows PC – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/slide-viking-treasures-path-windows/9plr1zb7wmmv
