World of Goo

"Pure, Unadulterated Fun."

World of Goo, a game made by an independent company known as 2D Boy brings, brings it's first game, to the spotlight, featuring solid, innovative gameplay which is light hearted, and at it's core, fun.

Story – 2.5/2.5
While I hesitate to even include the story category in this review, I think that it is worthy (even if it is of reduced point value). Why? While World of Goo doesn't bring deep, lengthy cut scenes in (such as games like Metal Gear Solid 4), it does have it's occasional moments. It is also filled with lots of fun, quirky humor, brought to you by your anonymous, enigmatic friend, "the sign painter".

As I played through, I didn't really notice Goo's quirks, but that isn't to say it's non-existant. Rather, it's subtle, and well weaved in, making it something that builds onto the game instead of distracting from it.

Needless to say, it left me with a silly grin on my face as I stared at my monitor in absolute delight throughout the night.


Gameplay – 17.5/17.5
"It squishes!", were the first words that my sister squealed as she walked by for the first time - partially in delight, partially in terror. Yes, it's true, your goo-lings will squishy and squirm as they leap and build to make fantastic towers, bridges, and other wonderful creations.

Every level is essentially the same, get enough of your goo-lings from point A to point B. Simple? Yes. Monotonous? No. Challenging? For sure!

The game brings in a whole array of species of Goo-lings: Your basic tar-ling, a black goo which serves as your basic building block throughout the game, all the way to a spit-ling, a goo which resembles a blob of saliva who's bond is flexible and drips downward.

To counter act your Goo-lings, the game also brings in some hefty challenges and an interactive environment. Your balloon-lings can lift gates, and the spiky pits of death will bring plagues of sorrow over you when your not-so-perfect tower collapses into one and you see all of your little ex-friends die.

That brings me to the physics engine. Really, the thing is a beauty. Make one false step in your planning, and your tower, bridge, or whatever you're building will go tipsy-turvey, swaying in ever which direction, and should a brace in your tower be broken, it may topple down into a pile of goo-lings unaware of their new surroundings.

However, that isn't to say that the gameplay isn't forgiving. Every time a move is made, a time bug appears which allows you to go back one turn for no penalty. There is a cap on the number of time-bugs that you can have, though.

Graphics – 4.5/5
Graphics don't make a poor game good, but they can make a good game great. Goo brings in cartoon-esqe, brightly colored graphics which make the game feel warm and light hearted. It's a good looking game, and it enhances the gaming experience accordingly.

I have two minor issues with the graphics, but really, it isn't that big of a deal.

My first complaint about the graphics is that the levels in which you start in a liquid, which is usually black, you can lose your tar-lings, as they're black and won't open their eyes unless the cursor is over them. A minor issue, but annoying at times.

My second complaint is slightly more serious, and it's the lack of a configuration/options menu. The game comes in one form with no way to change it's resolution or quality.

Quality shouldn't be a big issue, it's not very CPU intensive, and at it's default (and only) detail setting, 512 RAM did not lag at all.

However, anyone with a large monitor (18 inch and above, I would guess) will begin to notice slight pixilations in places.

I just dislike how I cannot tweak my game to make it fit me the best it possibly can.

Control – 5/5
Simple, perfect. Your only control will be your left mouse button. It serves as all functions; grabbing your goo-lings, stacking them up, and navigating through the game.

It's all it needs, and it's all it puts in.

Simple done well is sophisticated, and Goo pulled it off perfectly.


Music & Sound – 10/10
The soundtrack is captivating and encouraging, many-a-tune being upbeat, happy, and inventive.

However, what's even better than the soundtrack is the noises that your goo-lings make as you interact with them. Pull one of them away from their friends, and it'll squeak at you. Make it into a bridge and it'll yelp in delight... and make it fall into a spiky wall of doom, and it'll cry as it's fate as been decided.


Length & Replayability – 12.5/15
Some problems in the adventure length, and because there is no level creator, it's essentially set. Many of the puzzles were fun, and I went back to replay them to see if I could beat my record, but for many of them, once I was done the challenge was gone.

There is the Goo Corp's sand box which you can play in with the extra goo-lings that you earn throughout your adventure, though the number that you can have on simultaneously is capped fairly low (at 300).

It's really a shame that there's no level editor. It could have been like Warcraft III's fan-base, in which countless fans make maps which are released online which leads to the creation of entirely new game modes, such as DoTA.

Final Thoughts
Immediately I was charmed by Goo's colorful personality. 2D Boy did a great job on their first game, making it cheerful and childish, but intelligent and challenging at the same time.

World of Goo is a solid play that is defiantly worth it's $19.99 price tag.

Final Score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/26/08

Game Release: World of Goo (US, 10/21/08)