World of Goo 12 March 2009

World of Goo is one of the most fun, daft and inventive game I’ve ever played. Quite a statement, but I intend to qualify it.

Like all the best games, the premise is simple. If you are unlucky enough to have not had a chance to enjoy World of Goo, I’ll try and explain the goo-based physics puzzler- You are in command of a horde of gooey blobs and are charged with the task of cajoling them into forming structures to get from Point A, to Point B. It’s part Lemmings, part Worms, all fun.

There is a sweet spot in gaming, where the difficult level falls perfectly between challenging but not so difficult it stops being fun. Obviously everyone has a different opinion about where this point is, but for me World of Goo is perfectly pitched although one has to wonder what sort of fiendish mind created a level like “Blustery Day”?

Each world contains new species of Goo Ball with unique abilities such as sticky, reusable, explosive, drippy, flammable, etc. Along the way you can find messages left on wooden signposts by the mysterious Sign Painter- a source of some of the engaging but incredibly silly humour. The signs also hint at a far weirder subplot of the game which is best not to even try to explain here.

The game is stunningly designed, and beautifully illustrated. Each Goo Ball seems to be a living, breathing entity babbling away in some unknown language, you get a pang of guilt every time you accidentally let one of the little fellas drop into a churning ocean or raging fire.

The music is wonderful and elegant, a Danny Elfman style score which really does suck you into this bizarre world. Such was the popularity of the music, that co-creator of the game Kyle Gabler has released the score as a free download.

What is so amazing about the overall polish of the game, is that it was made entirely by two guys. New marketplaces like the iPhone App Store and Wii Ware has allowed tiny indie dev’s to turn out games that are far more inventive than anything the major studios have every managed. This can only be a good thing for players.

Like LostWinds, World of Goo is perfectly suited to the Wii, and shares the exquisite attention to detail of the former. However, World of Goo far surpasses all competition as the funniest, fun and brilliantly original game I’ve played in years. You can buy World of Goo for the Wii on Wii Ware for 1500 Points. Also available on PC, Mac, and Linux.