Full Review

NOTE: While our site is still indicating the initial discount price of $0.99, the App has returned to its full price of $2.99 as of 15th April 2011.

There are few games as easy to recommend for your desktop PC as World of Goo by 2D BOY; while there are similar titles that could be considered more challenging, the charming story and presentation of this game goes a long way to absorb and lock players in. Its eventual release on the iPad was a boon for the iOS device and a great way to experience this game on the go. Sadly, iPhone and iPod Touch users were left in the cold, but a Universal update and a separate iPhone/iTouch App have recently launched to spread the love even further.

Your adventure in World of Goo starts out with a simple task of utilizing semi-sentient blobs of Goo to form tenuous rubbery structures with the intent of helping a set amount of blobs to escape. Building structures is as simple as tapping and dragging a Goo blob from the level and placing them near other blobs to form a chain. Initially the task is fairly simple, however as the story progresses you'll need to explore the strengths and weaknesses new varieties of Goo in order to succeed. The sheer variety of challenges to overcome is almost overwhelming, but players will find themselves attempting to conquer puzzles that range from something as simple as building a bridge to complex challenges like creating a Goo airship. Most levels allow players to correct mistakes by reversing 'time' by a few seconds, but careful planning and judicious use of a pinch-to-zoom feature will save you more times than not.

The necessity of a zoom feature highlights one of the few weaknesses of playing World of Goo on a smaller iDevice, namely the speed and accuracy with which you can place each ball of Goo. It's certainly not game breaking, but being able to quickly and accurately select, drag and place Goo makes later challenges (and many OCD bonus challenges) much easier and spending several seconds shaking off the wrong Goo ball over and over can be annoying.

Thankfully this really is only a minor concern and one that is covered well by patience, a bit of practice and the game's stunning and absorbing world. Each individual Goo ball coos, burbles and squeaks depending on their type and how you're currently manipulating them, while also changing in appearance depending on how they're utilized in a larger structure. All of this is bundled in to a world that's vibrant and alive with plenty of unique challenges based on the environment you're in and several twists that even end up with players fighting in the 'digital' world. Should you get bored with the campaign you can try your hand at being ranked globally by building a tower-of-babel with the Goos you have emancipated.

While many hardcore gamers are likely to have played World of Goo by now (it is a three year old game after all), those who have not experienced this stunning title should definitely do so as soon as they get a chance. What starts out as a casual puzzle game quickly becomes a compelling and emotional roller-coaster following the plight of these Goo-ey creatures as they seek their freedom.

App Store Info