Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: October 22, 2010
Platform: PC

Note: Originally published 22 March 2011

Anyone who read my last review of The Ball will be pleased to know that I have been given another chance to review a game. And this time I was able to play it without mishap!

Puzzle Bots is a delightful puzzle-centric game tied together with a mildly interesting story line. The style harkens back to the Saturday morning cartoons of yesteryear. There is no attempt to be edgy or to push the envelopes of taste or humor. This is a good game for an aunt or grandpa to play with their nephew or granddaughter.

The story centers around a group of young geeks who have been hired to “invent stuff.” There are only five of them working in a huge facility located out in the middle of the woods. They have decided to build miniature robots, only a few inches high, because… well, that would be neat. Being geeks, they are technically brilliant, but their emotional development seems to have gotten stuck back in high school. So they focus on their robots, blind to the romantic interests of their co-workers, while their boss starts acting a little strange…

The game centers around the five little robots. Each robot has a unique skill –

• Hero can walk, climb, pick up small things and flip switches.
• Ultrabot is mounted on little tank treads and can push heavier things.
• Kelvin has a small flamethrower which can light candles, repair wires and dry up small puddles.
• Ibi can swim under water and manipulate things there. On land, she curls up into a ball and rolls along with the gang.
• Bombchelle has an unlimited supply of tiny bombs.

The puzzles consist of using each of the robot’s unique skills to achieve the goal. The goal is usually getting everyone to the exit, but they also help move the story forward.

There is not much more to say. The game is simple, straightforward, well-made and fun to play.

I give Puzzle Bots a solid B.

System Requirements:

• Windows: Pentium 4 1.5GHz +
• AMD Athlon XP 1500+
• GeForce 2 MX 400 64MB
• Radeon X300 Series
• Ram: 256 MB
• Direct X 9
• HDD Space: 500 MB