While I earnestly believe that in an ideal world games of every persuasion, and from every genre, should be capable of getting a perfect score, in practice it’s a challenge at times. In part, I think that for some categories of games there simply isn’t enough room for innovation or inspiration to come shining through due to their typical simplicity, even if perhaps you could believe that the mainstream could widely accept them as being at least good if not great. 

When it comes to more casual puzzling games I’ll admit that my mind doesn’t typically wander to such streams of thought, but I’ll happily admit that playing Woodo I was moved to again reflect on that inherent problem. The fact is that, as far as I can tell, Woodo should absolutely meet every goal its developers had for it. It has a very pleasing presentation for its 3D vignettes and wooden pieces you’ll use to fill them in. The controls are quite simple, but given how many times I’ve seen even basic control schemes show issues I’m still happy that it’s all smooth sailing in that area. Then finally I really appreciate the story it has to tell as you go through each space, filling in the pieces while it relates the places, objects, and events that you’re working on.

Better yet, while I’ll often note that games in this sort of space are typically lacking in ambition, I can’t even really say that in this case. The critical detail that I quickly noticed, and absolutely appreciate, involves how any piece you’re looking to place will continue to turn and rotate with the puzzle itself, providing a critical contextual clue at times and helping to minimize confusion. It’s a subtle but terrific feature that points to a fair amount of care and forethought that I’ve rarely seen in this space. At the end of the day it’s still a cozy and very accessible puzzler, but it’s the very clear spark of thoughtful design that helps set it apart from the vast majority of its peers.