Parcel

Well-designed puzzles suffer from persistent bugs, mediocre level design and tedious tutorials

the puzzles in this didn't really feel all that interesting to me in the end but i like the idea of it, theres a few fun and interesting things they do with the game though

GREAT GAME

A logic game.
Pretty visuals and atmosphere.
Slowly introducing to new mechanics, characters with new mechanics, very enjoyable.
Later so many characters that difficulty combining them is rising dangerously high.

Parcel is an underrated puzzle game that has over 125 puzzles to solve from easy to mind-numbing ones. Over the course of the game, you unlock six characters each with a special ability to help solve the puzzles. Primarily, you will be block-pushing to avoid enemies, lasers, and create a path to the exit with having the ability to swap between characters. Some levels have data spheres to collect and multiple ways to solve (leaving enemies alive or not) which adds to the complexity of the puzzles. Very rarely puzzle games implement a good co-op mechanic like parcel. Overall, this game is a puzzle gem that can take up to 25 hours to complete. [8/10]

Pros:
- Sokoban derivative.
- Aesthetics was actually pleasing for a puzzle game.
- Challenging.

Cons:
- Undo would have been useful.
- Music was uninspired, ended up turning it off.
- One of the achievement (We Don't Need Another Hero) basically forces you to replay the whole game if you mess it up the first time, like I did. Went much faster the second time, but still a pita.

Hidden Gem!

+ Nice art style and pretty graphics
+ It does get very challenging after a point
+ Solving puzzles is rewarding enough due to the effort spent in progressing
+ 6 different characters with unique abilities (for some reason they only show 4 in the trailer)
+ 125 puzzles plus 2 "boss" puzzles

- Music is bad and sound effects are repetitive. I played the game muted after a while
- I stopped at 85 puzzles (which is the requirement for unlocking the "last boss" puzzle) cause the reward/effort ratio had started diminishing for me by that time, but 15hrs is great value still

[table]
[tr]
[td]Gameplay[/td]
[td]8/10[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Aesthetic & GFX[/td]
[td]8/10[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Music & SFX[/td]
[td]3/10[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Time Played[/td]
[td]15hrs[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

Final Score: 8/10

I'm always looking for good puzzle games and I can tell you Parcel is a true gem, a very clever logic puzzle that is much more intriguing than it looks at first sight. It also goes way beyond just being a "Sokoban clone" because the game world contains laser barriers, robots, remote-controlled interlocked obstacles, and you control several characters with unique abilities who are gradually added to the game as you progress through the levels (so far I've encountered the parcel picker, magnet, teleporter, jumper, and remote controller; UPDATE: the final addition is the hammer guy who can remove wall pieces, which adds yet another layer of complexity). The point of each level is to get your characters (and the parcel) to their destination spots, for which they have to interact and cooperate to clear paths and block (or sometimes destroy) enemies. Not every puzzle features all characters; you will mostly have three to five; sometimes you'll get two or more of the same kind (four magnets, two teleporters, etc).

The gamelogic and the rules (who does what/who moves in which way) are well thought out, consistent, and at the same time simple and easily learned. The puzzles, however, are intricate and quite a few of them will thoroughly test your brain power, and that makes this game awesome: Minutes to learn, hours to master.

I recommend playing this game without looking up the solutions. Try hard and have patience - it's much more rewarding if you solve everything on your own.

UPDATE:

Yesterday I reached Level 125 and then the credits rolled. I had a total blast with this game! The level design is simply outstanding. I enjoyed almost every level despite the high difficulty. I solved all the puzzles and never looked for help, and so it took me ages, certainly more than my logged time (I'm not always online); probably more than 60 hours total.

The game has a level editor and user levels too, so there may be more to discover.

I highly recommend this especially to the patient puzzle fan who likes complex, pure logic puzzles. There is no timing, dexterity or controller skill needed at all, as e.g. in Stealth B_astard. You make your moves slowly and (usually) cannot die by making wrong ones (you cannot step into lasers etc). However, you can make wrong moves in regards to finding the solution, and trap yourself in a dead-end, and then you'll have to restart - which happens a lot! Cracking the toughest puzzles requires an incredible amount of trial-and-error, backtracking, and patience. And brain cells!

Impressive sokoban + companion cube like puzzle game. Graphics dont hurt the eye either and soundtrack is easy going enough. Price is cheap too so i really do think this is a good addition to the game library for puzzle game players who want a more casual experience. At this time i have nearly completed all levels on first 3 areas + extra areas so that makes the average difficulty 'mediocre' or even somewhat easy.

I got this game after using a discount voucher - and for the money I paid I was very impressed.

Some of the puzzles in this game a very challenging, but it is very satisfying when you can work out the solutions.

A couple of minor negatives for this game - after unlocking the 6th character that smashes blocks, I found the smashing animation slowed the frame rate right down before going back to normal after the animation is complete. I have a mid-level PC but the rest of the game runs perfectly smoothly.

Also, if you restart a level that you have smashed blocks in - the blocks spawn back but only as black blocks, rather than with the textures they originally had.

All in all despite these minor issues, I fully enjoyed the challenge this game provided and would easily recommend this.

One of the most ingenious and rewarding puzzle games I've played, for a ridiculously low price. Difficulty curve is really good too, from easy puzzles to mindbreaking ones. The game is also lenient by not forcing you to solve everything to move on (and even beat it) so you can have fun at your own pace and 100% it in whatever order.

Was expecting an unoriginal puzzle game to waste a few hours on, but wound up with 20+ hours of extremely challenging gameplay based on unique, innovative character abilities. Had a great time staring at each of the puzzles this game had to offer, wondering what I could possibly be missing.

Parcel is an engaging puzzle game, with nice graphics and soundtrack. Stages are usually small, but don't be fooled by the look of them, many will require an astonishing amount of moves to beat. You'll be switching back and forth between different characters on the field, each one with a distincting and unique ability, trying to figure out how to navigate the stage in order to put every one of your little helpers on its own extraction tile at the end of the struggle. What do you have to watch out for? Laser beams of course!! New characters will be introduced along the way, each with an even more game-changing ability compared to the previous one, increasing manyfold the variety of gameplay every time. Not gonna lie to you, you'll fail many times before eventually getting it right, we both know that's how it's supposed to be.

For an additional challange, go right away for the 'We don't need another hero' achievement ;)

Played this game over a friends house. A great thing about this game is that it provides controller support, so if you have multiple controllers and friends to play with, you can play this game with multiple people (up to 4).

The number of people that can play is based on the level, but once you unlock the third character, most levels are usually at least 3 players.

Now in terms of enjoyment in the game, it all boils down to this. Do you enjoy challenging puzzle games? Do your friends like puzzle games? Do you enjoy your friends? Regardless of the answer for the last question, this game is for you, as it can be used as a great griefing engine if you wanna trap them in a 1x1 square surrounded on all sides by laser spiders.

Overall, I highly recommend this game for anyone looking for a fun multiplayer puzzle game at a great price. 10/10

First of all: this game is HARD! Do NOT play this if you are not up to deep mental challenges. Most people won't be able to finish even the tutorial. However, if you DO like this kind of brain punishment, you will really enjoy this.

That said, within that genre, it's a nice game. Graphics are shiny, I bet for some it's "too" colorful, and probably nicer and more detailed than a puzzle game would require, but anyway. Music is ok; it doesn't "shine" but it doesn't need to.

There are lots and lots of levels, almost all with extra challenges to collect or achieve; again, some of these are crazy hard. That alone means this game will last quite long even for the smartest of the smartest; most people will give up before running out of levels. But if thats not enough for you, there is a level editor with steam workshop integration. Not many games include that amount of content for this price.

I don't enterely agree with the game design, it's too constrained to the one designed solution and it's very easy to get stuck. But I guess that's what was intended, and for that intend, it sure works.

Pros:
+ Very colourful..
+ Hard puzzle.. I like it..
+ Co-op multiplayer
+ many characters and unique skills

Cons:
- Mouse seems useless here
- There is no key config setting
- No undo button

Really worth to buy!!
Highly recommended

First impression:
It's a Sokoban-style puzzle game with a companion cube and lasers.

And yeah, we've seen lots of box pushing games, and laser puzzle games, but none where you needed to pack up your box at the end (it's not enough to just reach the exit), and none that had co-op play (you can switch between up to 4 characters if you play alone), and of course this one also has gamepad support.

You get 4 different box pushers: the first one, the postman, can just pick the parcel up and set it down. The next one is magentic and can pull it (but not push), and the third one can only use switches that can block and unblock pathways and those robots with lasers. I haven't gotten to the fourth one yet.
So these are different skills, and since the objective is not only to get the box where it needs to go, but all of these toons as well, it can get a little hairy. It is a lot of fun to play together, because you're continuously helping each other out. Most levels have at least two characters, those that have only one are usually quick.

The mechanics are simple, yet the last level we played took us half an hour - we think we did half of the levels, but the game says we're 25% done.

Push boxes with a friend! I'm sold. Parcel turned out to be a very accessible, very enjoyable brain twister.

I love this game. I like that it slowly introduces the characters. I enjoy the variety of easier levels and more challenging ones. It would be nice if I could some how get a small hint on some of the more difficult levels when I feel like it's not quite clicking but overall I still love it! Definitely would recommend if you like puzzle/logic games and don't mind getting to a point of defeat every once in a while.

Parcel is good. The graphics and animations are nice. The music is enjoyable but some of the effects are a little annoying when repeated for a while, for example, when you are stuck on a tough level. The puzzles start off easy and progressively get more difficult. This game delivers what I expected, no complaints. 7/10

Parcel is a great puzzle game that builds from incredible simplicity into a surprising amount of depth. Its great to see indie developers like this put out a solid product that really captures the passion they put into it. This is the kind of game that really shines with steam broadcasting too, the minor delay not being an obstacle in allowing you and a friend to work together in analyzing and deconstructing each puzzle and having a rewarding time doing it.

I hope Polar Bunny's passion is rewarded with this but I can see this game falling through the cracks for a lot of people. If you're checking it out, don't let it fall through for you.

....Amazing puzzle game...best $4.99 I ever spent on Steam so far. I'm only %25 thru & enjoying every brain scatching minute. Looking forward to the game ramping up the challenges over the next 75% left :-) I love Portal, Talos Principle....and Parcel, while a more static game to play, is just as much fun to unravel....It's quality, fun, challenging, engaging & just a great buy....so recommended :-)

Some bits of this game are clearly early access - the menus, the editor, and there are a few oddities. Despite this - as long as there are no major regressions - I can already recommend this. Why? Because the characters really come together.

Like your standard puzzle game, each character has one simple mechanic that is pushed to the limit by each puzzle. However, this game has 4 (or so) of these characters. Individually, with the various laser set-pieces, they can be part of pretty darn challenging puzzles. Combined, they can be made into extremely hard puzzles... with extremely satisfying solutions. Several of the built in puzzles have brilliant "aha" moments, which is key to a good puzzle game.

The gameplay is rock solid - not a single gameplay glitch. There are a few visual bugs and grammar issues - and as mentioned before, the menus still feel shaky. The worst part of the menus is that a whole set of "special place" levels are hidden behind an extremely unobtrusive button. A "switch space", taking inspiration from Super Meat Boy's light/dark modes would work better, I think.

I've played through a large number of puzzles (I am pleasantly stuck on some of them), yet there are still a lot more to go. I've got 5 hours on the clock with maybe half the puzzles solved.

While the editor is clearly unfinished, and filled with usability issues and weird behavior, it "does the job". I wouldn't want to design a level's visuals in it, but hammering out the logic is easy enough and lets you build your own mind bending puzzles, if you feel inspired. (I was)

The sound effects, visuals and animations are nice. Some of the built in levels look bleached out from overlighting, beyond the pleasant cacphony of neon, but generally everything is both functional and pleasant to look at. There are a couple of visual problems in levels which make them unnecessarily hard to solve, I want to see those fixed before I'd recommend this without the early access tag (unlit squares and visually obstructed squares). The music is nothing to write home about, but it's not offensive and you can mute it.

I bought it for full price, and I'm extremely happy with it. I look forward to solving more, and to horrible people creating insanely hard community levels.

Disclosure: I know the company behind Parcel personally. Still, I wouldn't sacrifice impartiality for any of them. ^_^

The game is in very good shape even in early access. If you're into puzzle games it's well worth the money.

+The plot is quite interesting
+The mechanics are unique
+Gets very challenging
+Quick load/save
+Graphics and music work well together
+Co-op

-The Level editor is a bit confusing, but it's still functional