All puzzles completed. Taking the block-shifting premise of traditional Sokoban and giving it a chemistry-themed spin, the objective of Sokobond’s levels is to form molecules from various atoms within a 2D grid. Complexity comes first from each type of atom requiring different numbers of bonds (1 for hydrogen, 2 for oxygen, etc.), then later from additional elements within each level that can add/remove bonds, cause rotation, etc. A little knowledge of chemistry may be helpful here given the familiarity that it brings with the overall concept of covalent chemical bonds, but nothing beyond basic high school level and it’s certainly not required – all the information needed is clearly displayed on screen.

Elegantly designed throughout, the puzzles nonetheless become challenging as they progress, and I’m not ashamed to admit to having resorted to a guide to get through a few – so there’s certainly a hefty challenge here for those who want to test their special visualisation skills!

I've had Sokobond vaguely on my radar for nearly 10 years (!!!!) when I remember it getting featured in some PAX roundups around the time of release. I feel like I may have benefitted from playing it earlier, because unfortunately now the cool things that this game does aren't particularly novel - echoes of what it's doing can be found to greater effect in English Country Tune, Hexcells, heck even A Good Snowman Is Hard to Build (which I also played as part of my Ukraine Itch Bundle deep-dive).

All that said, this is for sure a Good Puzzle Time, and the theme of putting together compound molecules tickled me just right at a time when I'm relearning a lot of high school chemistry. The music is GORGEOUS, composed by Ryan Roth who also did the music for Starseed Pilgrim, Beginners Guide and A Good Snowman (what a fun coincidence). The whole presentation of it is still delicious, even if it's not super unique.

I wasn't able to finish it in a single sitting, but can tell that I got pretty darn close - I don't want to spoil it, but as the map expands out there's a pretty cute reveal that indicated to me how far through I was. Might pick it up later, but the queue is long so who knows !

Um sokoban minimalista que soube brincar muito bem com a ideia de moléculas e ligações químicas para montar as várias mecânicas de gameplay, que são simples porém adaptáveis a vários níveis de dificuldade - tendo fases que te seguram fácil por vários minutos até chegar na solução.

Única coisa a se ficar esperto com ele é que o decorrer do jogo, dependendo de o quanto o jogador gostar de sokoban, pode tanto ser um paraíso, visto a sua quantidade alta de fases (quase 150), quanto o inferno pelo exato mesmo motivo. Até eu, que gosto desse estilo, tava implorando pro jogo acabar logo.

Mas, claro, isso não é uma negativa, afinal em um jogo com uma base tão bem montada e definida como esse, o óbvio que se pode pedir pra melhorar a coisa são mais níveis. Porém, do mesmo jeito que tem quem consegue mandar um X-Tudo inteiro pra dentro, há os que ficam cheios na metade do lanche, sentindo ânsia de mandar o resto e ficam mal por largar ele na metade - e é EXATAMENTE essa sensação que esse jogo pode causar, então fiquem ligados.

This is a minimalist, focused, puzzle-solving experience. While I preferred the puzzles that introduced more novel elements, I can also respect Alan Hazelden and Harry Lee's drive to iterate heavily on a small range of elements. That ramped up the difficulty quite a bit, in my experience. That sometimes led to frustration, usually for later puzzles in which it seemed that I had to figure out the best opening and full sequence for a solution. I liked the puzzles that more obviously allowed for multiple paths to a solution better - despite being easier, I had a greater sense of accomplishment in solving them and less of a sense of trial and error. Even so, these puzzles kept me coming back, bit by bit, sometimes with months in between.

Marketed as an “elegantly designed puzzle game about chemistry,” Sokobond lives up to the billing. I enjoy the game’s title for its cheeky transparency: it is a series of clever wrinkles on the the classic sokoban block-pushing puzzler, but with a more interesting player goal of assembling, and thereby complicating, atomic structures that make traversal through the claustrophobic grids difficult.

Sokobond’s cleverest quality is its clustered puzzle selection menu upon the Periodic Table, one that can be abstracted as a physical place - maybe a museum - with localized, iterating themes. Its presence turns the act of pushing circles into a journey.