Review: Crayon Physics Deluxe [PC]
josh, 13-Mar-09 » Crayon Physics Deluxe Review, by Josh
Crayon Physics Deluxe is not a game in the traditional sense. Sure the objective is to get a red ball to a gold star by any means necessary, but the game doesn’t really do anything to help you complete your task. Getting the ball to the star is completely dependent on you as the creative player of the game. It’s this free form that makes this game such a joy to play. There are literally countless ways in which to get the ball to star, all you have to do is draw them.
Crayon Physics Deluxe is a physics based game from independent developer Petri Purho. Petri set himself a challenge to create small games once per month, allowing himself only seven days to create the games. Out of this creative process arose a small physics game where, by drawing shapes using your cursor and giving them a mass, you pushed a small red ball into a star; and thus Crayon Physics Deluxe was born.
This is the first “real game” from Purho, in that he has elegantly worked through all the physics simulations and level design to maximize the openness of the title. The game is truly limited by only two things, your creativity, and being a physics game, the second is gravity. In one level you are presented with the red ball on a plateau on the left, while the star is on a separate plateau on the right. You could draw a line directly linking the two, but there is a cloud in the way. You learn very quickly that in Crayon, even a cloud becomes a solid object you need to get around.
The first level of an island is typically a given so the player can understand what the new game dynamic is.
The game doesn’t leave you floundering in the wind though. With each level where you reach the star, that star is added to a count of the prior stars you have obtained. The more stars you have, the more of the game becomes unlocked to play and the more difficult the challenges become. Each challenge itself can earn you up to five stars. One star is earned for completing the level, one is earned for “The Elegant Solution” in which you use only one shape, another is earned for “The Simple Solution” in which you cannot draw any pins or anything under the ball, and finally “The Awesome Solution”, where if you feel as though your solution was particularly epic, you can award yourself a gold star. If the player obtains all the Solution stars, an extra star is awarded, bumping up the star count to 5 per level.
The flags indicate how many extra stars you have obtained from the level. A red flag indicates all the solutions have been obtained.
I personally love this game. The simple premise combined with the creative aspects creates a fun and often challenging game where persistence and finding a different way of completing a puzzle is often the most fun. Simply getting the red ball to the gold star is goal of the game, sure, but the most rewarding experience is obtained when you get really out there with your designs and structures for doing so. Seeing how complex you can make the contraptions to move the ball over to the other side of the screen is a thrill and seeing the physics engine cope with whatever my creativity could imagine left me awestruck.
Each of the Islands has a star amount associated with it, effectively unlocking different levels as you progress through the game obtaining more stars. The final island, seen in the middle, requires a monumental 120 stars to access.
Crayon Physics Deluxe is available as a demo or to buy from http://www.crayonphysics.com. Buying the full game gives you access to the different islands, each with their own addition to the physics madness, however with the price at $19.95, if you’d rather try the demo first, you won’t be disappointed. I would highly encourage purchasing the game for all the extra content available. Oh, and if you’re thinking about torrenting or obtaining the game illegally, just be aware that it requires a secret key given out only by the designer himself, so just save yourself the trouble and buy the game, it’s worth the $20 and you’re helping the independent game developer scene at the same time. See http://www.crayonphysics.com for both the demo and the full game as well as a trailer for the game.
Crayon Physics Deluxe is not a game in the traditional sense. Sure the objective is to get a red ball to a gold star by any means necessary, but the game doesn’t really do anything to help you complete your task. Getting the ball to the star is completely dependent on you as the creative player of the game. It’s this free form that makes this game such a joy to play. There are literally countless ways in which to get the ball to star, all you have to do is draw them.
Crayon Physics Deluxe is a physics based game from independent developer Petri Purho. Petri set himself a challenge to create small games once per month, allowing himself only seven days to create the games. Out of this creative process arose a small physics game where, by drawing shapes using your cursor and giving them a mass, you pushed a small red ball into a star; and thus Crayon Physics Deluxe was born.
This is the first “real game” from Purho, in that he has elegantly worked through all the physics simulations and level design to maximize the openness of the title. The game is truly limited by only two things, your creativity, and being a physics game, the second is gravity. In one level you are presented with the red ball on a plateau on the left, while the star is on a separate plateau on the right. You could draw a line directly linking the two, but there is a cloud in the way. You learn very quickly that in Crayon, even a cloud becomes a solid object you need to get around.
The first level of an island is typically a given so the player can understand what the new game dynamic is.
The game doesn’t leave you floundering in the wind though. With each level where you reach the star, that star is added to a count of the prior stars you have obtained. The more stars you have, the more of the game becomes unlocked to play and the more difficult the challenges become. Each challenge itself can earn you up to five stars. One star is earned for completing the level, one is earned for “The Elegant Solution” in which you use only one shape, another is earned for “The Simple Solution” in which you cannot draw any pins or anything under the ball, and finally “The Awesome Solution”, where if you feel as though your solution was particularly epic, you can award yourself a gold star. If the player obtains all the Solution stars, an extra star is awarded, bumping up the star count to 5 per level.
The flags indicate how many extra stars you have obtained from the level. A red flag indicates all the solutions have been obtained.
I personally love this game. The simple premise combined with the creative aspects creates a fun and often challenging game where persistence and finding a different way of completing a puzzle is often the most fun. Simply getting the red ball to the gold star is goal of the game, sure, but the most rewarding experience is obtained when you get really out there with your designs and structures for doing so. Seeing how complex you can make the contraptions to move the ball over to the other side of the screen is a thrill and seeing the physics engine cope with whatever my creativity could imagine left me awestruck.
Each of the Islands has a star amount associated with it, effectively unlocking different levels as you progress through the game obtaining more stars. The final island, seen in the middle, requires a monumental 120 stars to access.
Crayon Physics Deluxe is available as a demo or to buy from http://www.crayonphysics.com. Buying the full game gives you access to the different islands, each with their own addition to the physics madness, however with the price at $19.95, if you’d rather try the demo first, you won’t be disappointed. I would highly encourage purchasing the game for all the extra content available. Oh, and if you’re thinking about torrenting or obtaining the game illegally, just be aware that it requires a secret key given out only by the designer himself, so just save yourself the trouble and buy the game, it’s worth the $20 and you’re helping the independent game developer scene at the same time. See http://www.crayonphysics.com for both the demo and the full game as well as a trailer for the game.
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| Category: | Game Reviews |
| Posted: | 13-Mar-09 6:50:00 pm |
| Author: | josh |