- 9 new worlds, each with 10 levels (some of which even I find challenging)
- Stylized graphics, decorations, sounds and rendered background scenes for each world
- Special traps unique to each world (except for Rock and Ice worlds)
- Surprise twist at the end of each world
- A level editor for creating your own worlds
How to play:
The object of the game is to guide Squish through each level to the open exit. The exit starts off sealed, so you must first lead Squish to the plunger which triggers the opening mechanism. You have at your disposal an assortment of props with which you can add to and change the level so that Squish follows the right path. Each prop affects Squish differently, and you have a limited number of each to use, so place them wisely. As Squish is just a rubber ball with a pair of goggly eyes stuck on it, there is no concept of death. You may try a level as often as you wish; however, there are hazards which will force you to restart the level if not avoided.
Squish is a game best played by experimentation. There is an online help screen that explains what the props do but it's a lot more fun just to try them all out. My advice is to stop reading this now and play the game!
Hint: If you find the game goes to fast or too slowly, try holding CONTROL or OPTION while playing.
EASY mode:
When you start a new game you are given a choice of difficulty level. This choice will be your default for the rest of the game. You may change the mode after this point (by clicking on the yellow flag next to the level picture on the Horizon menu) but the change will be temporary and will be reset to the default after each level. EASY mode should not be attempted by experienced gamers and puzzle-solvers as it takes most of the skill out of the game. It gives you 99 of every prop on each level you play on EASY, making level completion trivial. If you have a NORMAL default setting but you complete a few levels on EASY, you are required to go back and complete these levels on NORMAL by clicking on the level number with the Yellow Flag of Cowardice in it on the Horizon menu.
The Editor:
To make a world of your own go to the Editor menu and choose New World. Squish won't let you edit the original worlds at this point. You will then be taken to the Editor screen with a brand new level.
Place props, traps and decorations as you would normally, you have an infinite supply of them.
Set the starting conditions for each prop with the plus and minus buttons at the left.
The Spikes, Decorations, Traps, and Special blocks are condensed into one button each, and the variations can be accessed by using the plus and minus buttons or the up and down arrow keys. Special blocks include the Plunger, the Exit, and Squish's starting location.
Clicking on the bottom-rightmost button will take you to the Thumbnail menu. From this menu you can edit a new or existing level by clicking on its picture, or change the blockset the world uses by clicking on the planets at the bottom of the screen.
You can have a maximum of 48 levels in one world.
The editor isn't much fancier than this, there are no copy and paste functions and you can't rearrange or delete levels but it works. If you want something spiffier, ask me for it and I'll include it in the next version.
About the author:
Enigma Software is currently a first-year university student with a Mac and a passion for writing his own games. Look out for Enigma's next game based on my award-winning fully interactive 3D virtual world!
