Sokobos

I don't get it how Steam could hide this little gem for me for so long. It is sokoban, yes, pushing stuff around but yet, this one really has its own thing. The building twist to it made it a very relaxing experience to me. I didn't bother about the number of moves and just enjoyed the sceneries and stories (I bought the Aphordite's Trial DLC too). There's endless undo, you can skip levels, you can try to get yourself on the leaderboard... It also has a bunch of settings for gameplay, hud (for example hiding number of moves), audio, key- and controller bindings... The base game has 60 levels, the DLC comes with an extra 30. It's not linked to the base game though. I bought it while the base game was in progress. To unlock the first trail level, I had to start a new game but I kept all my current progress so no need to panick like I did a little bit at first :). I've been playing on the Steam Deck without any issue.

A sokoban that stars simple and has a great pace to introducing new mechanics. I was drawn in by the artstyle which is very 8-bit Grecian pottery inspired. It's a bit more lighthearted than it first appears but unobtrusive. Every 3-4 levels you get a bit more of the story but it's first and foremost about the puzzles. If you like other block-pushing games this one is very relaxing and challenging while not being too hard.

I have to admit to feeling proud for finally finishing this Ancient Greeks-themed sokoban game, but not because I've demonstrated great prowess or procedural insight - no, I'm proud because I've doggedly persevered for more than 49 hours spread over nearly a year to complete 90 levels (base game and DLC) in spite of my many false starts and failed strategies! So many times I've had the end of a level apparently in my grasp, only to realise that there's a fatal flaw. But the eventual successes were sweet, and never did I feel that the game itself was at fault, just my lack of skill and foresight. In fact, I found Sokobos to be a very clever and attractive game, with some novel mechanics (like having to make pieces the right colour by moving them over areas of paint), and with appropriate overarching mini-stories (building & decorating a temple, and negotiating a maze to try to get Aphrodite's approval for a marriage). All credit to the developer for producing very tricky but somehow compelling (rather than off-putting or discouraging) levels.