Thursday Triple is a weekly roundup of Indie Games from around the Net.
I’ve fallen into a kind of science-y mood, induced mostly, if not wholly, by marathon watching Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. It’s lighter than many other scientific series, serving more as an exploratory program to get people, young and old, interested in the wonders of our universe. And it got me thinking, there are games these days that also aim to show that science can be entertaining.
Sokobond 376g61
By Alan Hazelden, Harry Lee
Simplicity is a wonderful thing, and when I first learned about atoms and the elements way back in the day, I changed all my notebook doodles from stick figures to electron dot diagrams. Does this make me a nerd? Quite possibly. I wouldn’t recommend drawing equations for fun, but Sokobond is something you can play completely unashamedly.
Using concepts from elementary chemistry (of which even individuals with no prior knowledge in chemical bonds can pick up super quickly), Sokobond is a puzzler whereby you try to create substances by manipulating atoms around a grid. Bigger molecules in later stages will require double and triple bonds, and there will be a lot of rotating bits to fit everything nicely around those carbon backbones.
It’s clean and totally cool, and you can bet the maker of SpaceChem has played it too.
[youtube link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRfGyvqNAt0″ width=”590″ height=”315″]
Micron 5b3e1g
By Apparition Games
Moving into the realm of physics, Micron tasks you with getting energy from one end of a stage to the other. You won’t have to make any heavy mathematical calculations here (thankfully), though you will have to set up mirrors and other obstacles to guide these beams of energy.
The game blends puzzles with music as these particles make their own sounds bouncing within the levels. The rhythm is oddly relaxing, and it’s most satisfying to watch your little charges make it effortlessly through your mazes.
There are a lot of levels offered here for a great price. If you’re looking for something chilled out, definitely take a gander here.
[youtube link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf8b8KYju30″ width=”590″ height=”315″]
LogiGun t533h
By Alfred Lam
To wrap up, here’s a more familiar formula – a puzzle-platformer where you, the hero(ine), have a device that lets you manipulate your surroundings. LogiGun isn’t breaking any records here, but it doesn’t have to. With a wide selection of levels to choose from, each with very distinct problems to solve, people who like this genre will have plenty to chew on.
And for the average player, these puzzles are challenging enough to last a good number of hours. Consider it like Portal but not Portal, to quench your physics-based puzzler cravings.
[youtube link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asSs0dNFkN0″ width=”590″ height=”315″]