he should've called warrior sheep "battle rams". would've made the game *at least* 15% better imo.

This is an extremely accurate description of what Jonathan Blow often tries to say in his many hour talks and streams, but communicated in under 10 minutes. I'm impressed.

I think no matter how easy it is to play earlier levels, it's always a good idea to add save slots. When you want to show the game to someone, or multiple people are playing on the same machine, just replaying the levels that are already completed doesn't feel the same.

very interesting review. I love puzzles that are very "you think of what to do next" rather than you try to do something until it succeeds. A mix of both is usually healthy, but people usually gravitate towards the latter a lot more

I didn't know anything about puzzle game creation (although I probably did watch Jonas's video) but I now feel like I see them in a new light. Thank you, this was a great video!

Great analysis! I agree, solving a puzzle should make you feel invigorated to keep going, like a boost to your ego! it's a problem when you just end up feeling dumb or annoyed with the solution.

I think based on your argument, Pusheep could be fixed with better level design, right? I don't think the creator should necessarily abandon it or move on, but rather try a bit harder to rearrange the levels to create that Aha! moment. The technology is perfectly suitable to making an amazing puzzle game.

I bought Snakebird on Steam awhile back, but refunded it because it just felt.... *off* somehow. I love puzzle games, so I knew it wasn't the difficulty or level design or anything. but now, i realize that it's because it felt "mobile-esque", as you said. Swiping to move would work basically perfectly for the game, and each level is only minute or two long (though Portal's levels are about that long at the start, but 3D games don't work on mobile so it's better for Portal to be a PC release).

This video helped me realize some things that are saving me time. Thanks.

6:50 well, about that: this genera of very casual puzzle game does exist, but I do agree that is a very small market, and if someone decides to make games in this niche market I think they should reduce their expectations, there are quite a few games like this, and from my perspective it doesn't seems like this game is a failure, just not that outstanding but still neat game overall.

If you like puzzle games 'Dungeon Blocks' adds a couple of twists to the Sokoban genre.

In terms of commercial success or failure, I'd say that the biggest problem with the game is that it's a puzzle game at all. It's not that there's no demand for puzzle games, but the supply far exceeds the demand in the current market. It's the same with platformers and match-3. There are just too many indie platformers, puzzle games, and match-3 according to data mining. If Shovel Knight and Braid were released today instead of years ago, they'd be likely to fail. Celeste looked and felt just different enough to most indie platformers and had a free prototype with almost identical feel that everyone could try, so it just barely made it. Hollow Knight borrows not just from the Metroidvania subgenre but Soulslike games. Spelunky 2 is a sequel to a game released quite a while ago, and has infinite replayablity. Dead Cells is a Metroidvania and a Roguelike. It's not that an excellent pure 2D platformer or an excellent pure 2D puzzle game absolutely cannot succeed. But there are so many excellent pure platformers and excellent pure puzzle games already available that new ones are going to find it more and more difficult.

What do you think? Do mobile style games do well on steam?

Where can I learn more about this? Any suggestions

It's interesting how sometimes a regular player doesn't even notice the second layer you have shown. I didn't know why the first portal game was so enjoyable to play even though it looks like a bootleg portal 2 in comparison before.

I also think the music choice in the Pusheep trailer is extremely bizarre and off-putting. When I play a puzzle game I want a serene, meditative experience, not the fast-paced, hill-billy ho-down that the music is presenting it as.

While the analysis is very good, I am quite sure this is not the reason for bad sales. 1) This is something that players discover while playing - after they already made the purchase. 2) Indie puzzle games on Steam are an extremely oversaturated market, while being among the least popular genres among buyers.

Maybe Pusheep isn't a puzzle game, and is instead a turn based strategy game?

No, you are not wrong.

I don’t agree with your take at all. I think the no.1 reason for puzzle games (or games in general) to fail is the lack of emotional sparks. Great puzzle games can usually fulfill this requirement by either providing surprises or evoking other emotions. The herding game you showed in the video tbh wasn’t packed with any obvious emotions.