Pushmo Review: Best DLC on the 3DS

Adorable, addictive and adventurous, Intelligent System’s “Pushmo” is the first great “new” game on the Nintendo 3DS.

Sorry Mario and pals, but trusty, chubby Mallo has stolen our attention and built himself up to be one cool and collected cat.

And who would have thought?

Puzzle games haven’t always been geared towards casual fans, but Pushmo ends up climbing its way to your heart, stealing hours of your spare time. A handy level-design feature adds to the fun, creating a one-of-a-kind experience only available on Nintendo’s handheld.

The concept of the game is simple- move blocks that make up a “Pushmo,” which is essentially a collection of pieces that make up a big block, until you get to the top, where a child is stuck. For those still confused, think back to the end of last year and Atlus’ “Catherine.” Think of a G-rated version of that game, with similar gameplay. Ah, now we’re on the same page again.

Can the game, in spite of the fun, get repetitive? Of course, but the puzzles range from overtly-simple to annoyingly-difficult, which makes for a type of puzzle experience that isn’t available anywhere else. Some puzzles can be solved in seconds; many take much longer than that. Either way, you’ll enjoy the “slap on the head, that was so easy, why did it take me so long” puzzles, as much as the ones that you’ll enlist the help of your friends for.

But before you even start to really play, the first thing that catches your attention are the colors. Bright reds, bananaramic yellows and big blues flood the screen, making you feel like you’re in the middle of a playground covered in Playskool toys. While the graphics aren’t amazing, the natural allure of the settings is a world that begs to be played in. The characters are silly and charming and continue the hypnotizing effect the game has on its user. The sound effects do a great job of capitalizing on the fun-filled gameplay experience.

Perfect in five-minute bursts or hour-long exclusions, “Pushmo” makes its case that it’s so much more than a good handheld title. While the game uses two screens, it could easily be ported to the Wii. The 3D effects are easy on the eyes and make it a good fit on the system, but they’re not exactly needed.

At its heart, Pushmo is just a fun and often times challenging retro puzzler.

And even if puzzles aren’t your thing, it’s impossible to argue with the $7 price point. Playing through the first two levels, which consist of 36 puzzles, you already get your monies worth. The ability to trade and create your own Pushmo puzzles adds a level of depth that no other DLC on the 3DS can stack up with- no pun intended.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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