Video Game Review: Wurroom

Wurroom

Sometimes You

Nintendo Switch

Puzzle

Puzzles exist in all shapes and sizes. From games like Portal and Bejeweled to more obscure games like Opus Magnum and Ace Attorney, they often challenge the player to think in new and creative ways. They encourage players to keep their wits about them as they are presented with new environments and challenges to overcome. And yet, Wurroom manages to be an engaging game while lacking the typical difficulty present in puzzle games.

Wurroom is a surrealist puzzle game that has you playing the role of a disembodied hand working its way through the environments that it presents you with. The game uses the Switch’s touch screen as the player’s controller. The gameplay is very simple, requiring that the player simply touch objects in the environment and allow them to interact and progress. A few locations have the player touching and dragging objects across the screen interact with the objects in the environment. Since the gameplay lacks the depth that a traditional puzzle game has, it allows it to focus on the visual experience.

The game shines when it has time for the player to take in the visuals. It uses a traditional, Claymation style that provides a very alien atmosphere and gives the game its own unique ambiance. Similar to popular movies like Coraline or Kubo and the Two Strings, this gives a very handmade feel to the entire game.

Visually, there’s a lot to enjoy in this small game. However, despite the game’s charming style and simplistic gameplay, there’s very little beyond the first playthrough. As a one time experience that takes around 20-30 minutes from start to finish, there’s little to the game beyond the first playthrough. In addition, the entire game is largely trial and error with very few truly difficult puzzles. Despite this lack of replay value and overwhelmingly simple gameplay, Wurroom provides a fun and aesthetically pleasing experience that differs from many other games.