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Nintendo: DS Reviews

Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures ^DS

The Incredible Hulk ^DS

Review

Soul Bubbles

93%

Format Nintendo DS

Developer Mekensleep

Publisher Eidos

Genre Puzzle

11-Jun-2008 A Ds game that really melts on your tongue

18 Comments

Exquisite. Beautiful. Elegant. Very few videogames can be described with a single word (positive ones, anyway) but if you got us talking about Soul Bubbles, these would be the ones we'd use. Unique would probably be a good one too, given the premise of the whole thing. And as original concepts go, it's a pretty great one too - part puzzler, part action and part exploration game that not only puts your brain into gear but also makes good use of the DS's capabilities to boot. You wouldn't get that from your common-or-garden franchise sequel, that's for sure.

That Soul Bubbles is much simpler than it sounds is a big plus point. Focusing on bubbles and, more specifically, you doing your best to guide one through each level while protecting it from anything vaguely pointy or aggressive, actually moving the bubble by 'blowing' it around (read: dragging the stylus across the touch screen to make your nameless hero breathe on it) is fairly easy. Throw in the fact that soon you're using your bubble to transport incredibly fragile spirits from A to B and it gets a bit trickier. Add to that the range of dangerous enemies, obstacles and other problems and it gets trickier still.

Bubbl-icious
Thankfully, you're more than equipped to handle each situation with three easy-to-use masks. It's working out when and where to use them - as well as getting your head around the fiendish level designs - that's really the key to Soul Bubbles' enjoyment. Cut bubbles up to squeeze through the smallest gap or slice through foliage, rocks or even enemies. Create new bubbles behind walls to grab otherwise unreachable stardust and negotiate dark tunnels using only the shape of your bubble for guidance. Douse fire with water-filled bubbles or use exploding enemies for your own destructive needs. There's absolutely loads to get your head around in the first few worlds alone, but the good ideas just keep coming.

Soul Brother
The real charm, however, comes from the many layers that Soul Bubbles has to offer. Yes, you can just race through to the end of each stage and keep the spirits safe, but braver players will want to explore every inch of the levels, hunting down hidden stardust (which gets tricky to find quite early on) and the magical calabashes that grant access to the secret final world. Yes, you can take in the basic gameplay elements but you could also stop to admire all the little touches that Mekensleep has squeezed in, such as the ultra-realistic bubble physics, the way enemies turn into flowers that you can then blow the petals off or how your hero pants if you blow for too long and runs out of breath. And to not mention the beauty of the graphics, the glorious hand-drawn subtlety that they bring, would be foolish.

Soul Bubbles is more than the sum of its parts, but those visuals are certainly a big part.
As beautiful as it is joyous to play, as charming as it is fun and as impressive as it is surprising, Soul Bubbles really deserves your attention. Whether it'll get it, looking at how well the likes of Eledees, Zack & Wiki and No More Heroes did despite our praise, is another matter. But ignoring it would be a big mistake, simply because it's one of the purest gaming experiences we've had for a long while. Give Soul Bubbles a chance and you'll find something truly very special indeed.

Martin Mathers

Another great title, another cry out from us - please, if you like charming, enjoyable and genuinely unique games, get Soul Bubbles. You won't regret it.