Dr. Kobushi's Labyrinthine Laboratory

Really scratched that puzzle-solving itch. Nothing beats a game with solid puzzles, fun characters, and catchy soundtrack. What a good time!

Just finished the game and enjoyed it enough that it felt worth condensing some general thoughts: Solid chill tile + turn based puzzle game with amazing tunes and a nice general atmosphere as you're solving, with some fun character dialogue throughout. Puzzles are a nice level of challenging where they don't feel unfair, but still feel nice when you finally figure out the solution. It also does a nice job of introducing new mechanics, expanding on those mechanics, and then combining mechanics with previous ones in really interesting ways. Game length feels just right, as well. This game very much has its own identity, but if you're into games like Chip's Challenge or Adventures of Lolo, you'll probably have a good time with this game.

머리가 쪼개질거 같지만 이상하게 중독성 있는 게임 갓 브금, 독특한 캐릭터들 스토리는 잘 모르겠지만 재밌습니다

Having finished up the good doctor's laboratory, with each gem and floppy disk grabbed along the way, I found myself greatly satisfied. It is a triumph of a game filled to burst with not only good ideas but also charming personality. Every bit of progress through the eponymous laboratory grows in scope and complexity with each floor, introducing bold new concepts in a way that for the most part feels natural and enhances the experience. Likewise the gaggle of kooky mechanical puppets and their mad creator are a mostly comedic element that forcibly inhabit the right side of the player's screen, shifting wildly between mockery and panic as you force your way through their levels. All this is completed with the small but solid chiptune soundtrack, striking a good balance where it creates a nice atmosphere and somehow never grows monotonous or distracting despite how long it takes you to solve a puzzle. All these aspects end up bundled into a neat little packet in the form of a square grid, filled with an array of switches, panels, killer robots and most importantly: blocks to push. This simple format is what allows Dr. Kobushi to be such a well-executed, cohesive game, but it is also probably the part that will make or break whether you'll be able to enjoy the experience. There seems to be an intentional design decision to litter many levels with red herrings, putting spikes, enemies and sometimes even blocks into the stage that you're simply not supposed to (and sometimes straight up can't) interact with. For me the format worked, as some of the toughest challenges I faced turned out to simply be my own overestimation of a levels complexity, but for some it might end up feeling like visual and mental clutter that detracts from the purity of the solutions. Finally, as solid of an experience as the game is, there is one notable miss along the way: The introduction of the dice block. The dice block is an obstacle meant to be rolled onto specific tiles with the correct number, occasionally turning into a tiring guessing game rather than a proper puzzle. It often ends up being easier to just roll the blocks around to guess the numbers rather than planning out a route, which feels neither fun nor rewarding. In addition, the dedicated dice panels ended up having their numbers obscured in several of the later levels, which necessitated frustrating trial and error for no discernible reason. This ends up trivializing many of the levels leading up to the finale, making them feel like mindless busywork rather than solving a problem. They're not common enough to sour the experience, but certainly feel off in a game that otherwise seems so meticulously crafted.

good!

Love this game, puzzles are decently challenging and the music is by my favorite artist. So far it's a good play that was worth the cost

Made my Eurocrypt visit worth it, 10/10.

Really fun... and hard!