Bye-Bye BoxBoy! (3DS) Review

All these squares make a circle.

“The hell is a box boy?”

I murmured, watching the Nintendo direct in April.

“Oh, it’s just some puzzle game. Looks neat, I guess.”

Little did I know that I would be tasked with reviewing this game, and guess what?

It is neat.

Despite its minimalistic visuals, it manages to be pretty charming all the same.

MSRP: $4.99.
Platforms: 3DS.
Demo: Yes, on the eshop.
Length: 6~ hours

Not having played the other two games in the Boxboy trilogy- which by the way, is as fun to say as it is silly to hear, I wasn’t sure what caliber of puzzles I was in for when I first started.

After all, the promotional video in the direct didn’t show off more than a few mechanics, I couldn’t be sure how they would implemented or how difficult the game could be.

Even though there are many different mechanics that are specific to one or two worlds, the basic concept of replicating a set number of boxes to get from point A to point B remained crucial to success.

It’s was as simple as holding down one button and using the D-Pad to choose the direction where I wanted to replicate a cube but the way this was used in conjunction with hazards and shifting objectives like escorting another cube through an obstacle course kept the experience fresh.

The constant secondary objective of grabbing collectible “crowns” added a bit more challenge to an otherwise straightforward solution and I made certain that I didn’t consider a level completed until all crowns were secured.

My one big complaint is that the game felt a bit too easy and only a handful of puzzles made me think for more than a minute. Given that there is a hint system, I think the developers could have turned up the difficulty a few notches during the main scenario. Luckily, the last few worlds and some of the levels in the extra challenge missions posed an admirable challenge, which was a nice change of pace.

Finishing the levels afforded me some currency to unlock the aforementioned challenge levels along with costumes to put on Qbby. I ultimately settled on a Sherlock Holmes Qbby, which felt appropriate since I was solving all these puzzles, after all.

I could also unlock some music tracks and some cute little comic strips starring Qbby and his friends which were mildly amusing.

While the promotional video might have you believing that there is some semblance of a story here to follow but just like the visuals, it’s a minimalist tale without any dialogue so keep your expectations in check.

Also, a reminder that there is a demo available on the eShop and playing through that will give you a much better idea of whether or not you’d like the game than reading this review or any review, now that I think about it.

But then again, who is really so hesitant to drop $4.99 on a game, that they need to make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that they will not regret their purchase?

Hell, I spend over double that for lunch every other day.

It’s impressive how many scenarios they’ve thought up using these very simple mechanics.

Housing over 180 cubed filled levels to solve at a bargain price of only $4.99, it’s easy to recommend Bye-Bye Boxboy to anyone who enjoys a good puzzle game.

Fun Tidbit – This is one of those games that just kept going. There were multiple instances where I thought I just finished the last world and then more stuff would unlock over and over again.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Written by
Jae has been a gamer ever since he got a Nintendo when he was just a child. He has a passion for games and enjoys writing. While he worries about the direction gaming as a medium might be headed, he's too busy playing games to do anything about it.