Sometimes when reviewing indie puzzle games for the Switch it feels like I’m stuck in an endless time loop, and recently since there has been a run of box pushing titles I believe such a loop is in progress. Don’t get me wrong, some logic puzzle challenge busting is good for both the mind and the soul, but boy does it seem like there’s quite a lot of them on the system. Sokobalien, on the surface, appears to just be a themed and possibly slightly cuter-than-average take on things, but thankfully it at least offers a little more the further you get into it.

The basics are that you’re an alien who is apparently visiting Earth with the goal of collecting a variety of livestock. In order to be successful, you’ll need to diligently push them around until they’re in the right spot to be abducted by your space craft. Of course, with this being a puzzle title, that quickly isn’t as easy as you’d think. Early on, pretty well everything about the design and layouts of the stages will feel a bit familiar if you’ve dabbled in the subgenre before, but then over time a few new twists do get introduced with that a wrinkle or two to the challenge. 

In particular, in order to add another layer to your considerations, you’ll need to also position animals on what are effectively switches, which will control whether or not certain tiles are available. This at least feels somewhat more fresh, and it certainly makes solving each stage a bit more difficult. Outside of that there’s not much more to really suck you in, unless using the currency you’ll accumulate to unlock some pretty goofy cosmetics like hats is what seals the deal.

In the end, and again this is starting to feel a bit predictable, aside from the game’s retro and somewhat cute looks, there’s no real getting around the fact that it has joined a subgenre space full of titles with a very similar pedigree. They’re generally all budget-friendly, they each have their own variations on the formula of some kind, and I have no doubt that they’ll each find their own ways to keep the average puzzle fan occupied for a few hours. Sokobalien has some charm that may help it be more appealing, but depending on your tastes that may also sink it. If you’re looking for your next box pusher, you’ll simply need to look over what’s out there and pick the one that best suits your tastes somehow since under the hood they’re all quite similar in most regards.