PACKED!? review - “An engaging yet frustrating experience”

• Move boxes and escape a shipping warehouse
• Too sensitive controls lead to frustrating mistakes
• The game does not offer you any hints

We've all felt the anticipation of waiting for a package to arrive at your door. But have you ever considered how claustrophobic you'd feel packed away in a depot just waiting to get shipped off somewhere? You probably haven't, but Shortbread Games, the developer behind the new puzzle game PACKED!?, certainly has.

PACKED!? is a charming little iOS puzzle game in which you must help two little friends escape a shipping warehouse. To complete a level, you’ll need to move boxes to reach your specified destination. Each level plays out a small grid, which changes in size and shape with each level. Many of these grids are reminiscent of Tetris pieces, which, intentional or not, adds to the game's charm.

PACKED!? Features Simple Yet Challenging Gameplay

Featuring simplistic graphics, this new puzzler offers easy-to-learn controls - simply swipe your finger in the direction you want the character to move. Be careful, though; you can easily make your character move too many squares at once.

This can lead to pushing boxes into problematic locations. Unfortunately, the controls are very sensitive, so you’ll likely grow frustrated trying to avoid making an error. Luckily, the game lets you reset the level at any time by tapping the recycling symbol at the bottom of the screen.

PACKED!? : And Then There Were Two

Once you’ve progressed far enough, you’ll go from moving one friend to two. This is where things start to get really tricky, as the two little buddies will move in unison whenever possible. You can always restart a level. However, once both friends are in play, it becomes much easier to make a mistake. If you don’t change direction quickly enough, you can end up moving an obstacle in a way that prevents you from reaching your goal.

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One thing PACKED!? lacks is a hint system to aid players when they’re struggling to figure out a puzzle is integral to a great puzzler. Many games struggle to offer a balanced hint system, making them either too vague or giving answers away completely. However, not having one at all is far worse.

The game will give you a rating for each level you complete. Ratings are based on how much time it took you to complete and how many moves you made. To get better ratings, you’ll want to clear each level in as few moves as possible.

PACKED!? Communicates Through Graphics

The game features 120 levels with which to test your puzzle-solving skills. The goal of each level is conveyed purely through imagery. There’s no dialogue to tap your way through or text to guide you. While this is a novel concept, as most games include some form of text, it is also a bit of a nuisance since you’ll need to use trial and error to figure out some of the mechanics.

PACKED!? is a novel mobile puzzler that's worth a try. While the overly sensitive controls and lack of a hint system lead to an unhealthy level of frustration each puzzle is well thought out and offers a decent challenge. If you’ve got a knack for puzzles and are looking for something casual to pass the time, then you should definitely unpack this one. However, if you’re easily frustrated you may want to give it a pass.