Patrick's Parabox
Patrick's Parabox
Sorti le 29 mars 2022, Patrick's Parabox est un jeu de réflexion indépendant développé et édité par Patrick Traynor. Disponible sur PC (Windows, Mac, Linux), Nintendo Switch et PlayStation 5, il propose une expérience centrée sur la récursivité : le joueur manipule des boîtes imbriquées les unes dans les autres, apprenant à exploiter l'infini et les paradoxes logiques, comme une boîte se contenant elle-même, pour progresser. Le titre comporte plus de 350 énigmes conçues à la main, sans niveau superflu, chacune introduisant une nouvelle idée pour guider la compréhension du système.
Le jeu repose sur le moteur Unity et s'accompagne d'une bande sonore apaisante signée Priscilla Snow, qui évolue au rythme des mécaniques découvertes. Côté distinctions, l'œuvre a été récompensée par le prix Excellence in Design à l'Independent Games Festival 2020, après avoir été sélectionnée à l'IndieCade 2019 où elle a également obtenu le prix Developers Choice.
L'accueil critique et public s'avère très favorable, avec une note agrégée de 86,41 (84 sur Metacritic, 87 sur OpenCritic). La presse a salué la manière exceptionnelle dont le titre emprunte et fusionne des idées existantes, comme le note Games.cz, tandis qu'IGN Japan souligne la rupture apportée à la formule traditionnelle du Sokoban par ce système d'imbrication. Du côté des joueurs, les retours mettent en avant la brillance de la conception, qualifiée d'instinctive et bien construite pour une durée de vie principale d'environ 6h30, pouvant s'étendre à 17 heures pour une complétion totale, bien que certains préviennent que le style minimaliste ne conviendra pas à tous. Le jeu est proposé au prix de 19,50 EUR.
Médias
Avis des critiques et joueurs
Critiques de la Presse (Metacritic)
« Patrick’s Parabox may not be the most original of video games but the way it borrows ideas and blends them together is simply exceptional. Its paradoxical puzzles will mangle your brain, the concept of applied infinity will stun you. Do you like Baba Is You? If so, play this and thank us later. »
« Patrick’s Parabox shakes up the traditional formula of Sokoban (box pushing) puzzle games by implementing boxes within boxes. The moment you realize the box you are pushing is a stage in itself is something truly magical that adds new depth to the genre. The visuals, polish and difficulty balance make this one of the best games in the genre to date. A must-buy for any puzzle gamer. »
« This is an incredibly smart puzzle game that you should try if you like the genre and, particularly, sokoban games. »
« Patrick's Parabox is brilliant, there's no other way to say it. It starts with a small idea and expands it again and again, mixing each new insight with the previous one to create larger and larger and more interesting puzzles. It offers lots of content, administered quickly to the player, with lots of optional levels, allowing the more experienced to test themselves and those who struggle a bit more to advance by completing only the easier sections. »
« In this bursting-at-the-seams collection of over 350 handcrafted puzzles, you’ll need to think both inside and outside the box. »
« Those who like their puzzlers to have a supplementary hook will find it wanting on that front, then, but you will struggle to find more ingenious challenges than these in any other game this year. [Issue#371, p.121] »
« It's like a fine dining set for puzzle fans. But it's unsatisfying in that its limited reward systems does not motivate gamers to play repeatedly. »
Avis des Joueurs (Metacritic)
« [SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.] »
« Of course, if you don't like puzzle games with minimalistic style, this is NOT for you. Otherwise... Brilliant. The most brilliant puzzle game i have played for decades. Patrick's Parabox constantly challenges you AND blows your mind, and it seems to never stop as the level goes on and on. The puzzles are well-paced, never too hard or too long to resolve, making it less frustrating than a Baba is You for instance - yet they are amazingly satisfying when you finally solve them. And from a gameplay standpoint, this is pure videogame. Nothing else than a VIDEO game can give you these perspective, recursive, loop de loop tricks. Try the demo : it gives enough insight to realize if you like this game or not. But i honestly don't see what's what possibly wrong with the whole design. »
« Pretty tight and fun puzzle game. I was able to beat it in about 5 hours on the main path, doing almost nothing optional, without cheating. I found the difficulty level satisfying. I looked at some of the challenge puzzles but they seem to take the term "challenge" literally. They're very tough. This game is a lot like "Baba is You" and some other recent puzzle games in that you're sort of moving around the level and altering the rules a little bit in order to solve the puzzles. Very fun concept and clean execution. The music is great, which is a huge asset in this kind of game. Highly recommended for puzzle gamers. »
« One of the best puzzle games I ever played. The mechanics are diverse and fun to play with, and the difficulty of the puzzles is very well balanced. »
« It's an essential puzzle game, really innvoative and original. Portal was the first puzzle game that accomplished to astonish me with all its level design and mechanics. This game... really made me remind of that time. Excellent. »
« Brain-blowing, fantastic and original game! A must buy for all puzzle lovers. »
