Indie-developer h.a.n.d. Inc. and publisher Aksys Games have just announced the release of action-puzzle game Gabbuchi for the PS4 and PC. The title was originally launched on the Nintendo Switch’s eShop in January of this year, and it’s quite the ingenious little puzzler for those looking for a different kind of challenge.
You play as Gabbuchi, a mysterious creature with a serious hankering for consuming blocks. You can either eat red blocks or white blocks. You are what you eat in this game, so if you make Gabucchi eat a white block, it turns him white. This allows you to step on red blocks, but you will obliterate the white blocks. It is beneficial to watch Gabbuchi’s diet. Blocks that you eat may no longer recover and may prevent you from eating Gabbuchi’s favorite: a heart cookie.
You cannot just play Gabbuchi without any semblance of restraint. A heart meter is present while you play and any time you eat too much blocks of either color, it may make Gabbuchi too full for the main course. Going through a difficult level, just to end up being too full to eat the heart cookie might be annoying and frustrating, but presents a challenging facet to the otherwise cute and seemingly harmless puzzle game.
Depending on whether you are a fan of action puzzle games similar to Gabbuchi, or just a casual player looking to get into the genre, you may either breeze through or struggle against the 180 levels provided by the game. Don’t worry if you’ve finished it in record time though, Gabbuchi has included a level creator so you have the chance to create casual or hellish levels for your friends to play through.
Gabbuchi's black and white color scheme (with a few reds sprinkled in) is very reminiscent of the “brick games” handheld consoles of yesterday, which is complemented nicely by the retro-vibed soundtrack. For fans of the genre, its premise and price point alone should warrant a purchase.
Gabbuchi will be available for purchase on July 18 for Windows PC (via Steam) and PlayStation 4 (via Playstation Store) for $7.99.
