The Adventures of Shuggy

Love this game! The mixed reviews made me a little nervous about it but I got it during one of GOG's awesome mega-sales, so it wasn't much of an investment. I've been played it for about three hours now and have concluded that Shuggy is worth every penny (even of the normal price). Other reviewers compared it to Winterbottom which is accurate for those level types, but there are several other types of puzzle as well as the time-cycle, mirror-image ones. My favorites so far are the rope puzzle levels which I personally have never seen before, but enjoyed immediately. I love how simple the game is; it's easy to start playing, gradually gets more challenging, and sucks you into hours of play as you conquer each small puzzle room. From what I've seen so far, it would be great for children or adults. Lastly, I remember someone else saying that there was a slight lag with the controls. Using my keyboard, I see the very slight "lag" that was mentioned but it hasn't hindered my play at all, in fact the controls are tighter than I would expect them to be. I've encountered two glitches so far, one while loading the game which was corrected by restarting it, and one during a level where Shuggy got stuck in a wall which was corrected by restarting the level.

Fantastic puzzle-platformer that is a bit easier on your reaction times than many other of its ilk; a great balance of puzzling and unique mechanics (clones, warping, board rotation) that is a perfect combination of difficulty and pleasure. And there is quite a bit to keep you busy: 100 single player levels and another 30 (or more) for co-op! Well worth the full price, and a bargain if on sale. And don't sleep on the bonus soundtrack ... there are 8 tracks that barely exceed 10 minutes in play length but you will be humming them throughout the game (and after). The songs strike a delightful Xavier Cugat/kitsch vibe and are catchy as can be. "Dungeon" sounds like it is straight off a 1960's exotica lp!

Shuggy's mechanics have only a few simple buttons to keep track of; These trigger abilities that vary greatly between any given level. It feels like it would be on the SNES, or some similar console had it been an option. Music is fun and keeps you on your feet, acts both as action and as a puzzle platform. Definitely 5-stars :)

This game reminded me of a lot of the early 1990's games I used to play for the Amiga; both in style and gameplay. Not much to say other than it's a very well designed puzzle-platformer that involves collect all the gems in each of the stages to get a key - a certain number of which unlock a door leading to the next 'world'. Sounds pretty straightforward and 'played it all before'. To an extent yes, it's quite familiar, but in a comfy pair of slippers way :) Where this game excels is in the quality of it's puzzles, variety between levels and sheer amount of content (over 100 levels + a separate 36 level co-op mode and other bonus challenges if I remember). One level will have you using skill as much as brains to use a rope to swing about; in another you will be triggering switches only for an alarm to sound signalling a 'ghost' of you last few seconds will appear. Your present self must work with these multiple spawns of past selves to trigger all the switches. However (Timecop rule) don't bump into yourself! The difficulty is pretty much perfect for the most part; it starts off quite easy and steadily increases in difficulty and complexity in a smooth manner *until* it does seem to ramp up suddenly in the latter half. If you've got that far, you'll have what it takes though. The controls are simple and can be remapped, there is controller support and the game has a nice weighty feel. Shuggy has a pleasing amount of inertia, although in some of the more cramped levels it can feel a bit slippery and unresponsive (minor gripe). The Adventures of Shuggy is wrapped up in some nice spooky music (think Super Mario World's ghost stages) and the 2D graphics are presented in a nice clean, clear, uncluttered cartoony style - which is what you want in a game like this. Art design is cheap and cheerful, but appropriate and charming. The graphics are nothing fancy overall: They are there, they look nice - won't blow you away, but also don't distract from the puzzling.