Most people think of puzzle games in a shape sense. Without shapes, it can't be a puzzle game. It's just not Tetris. Not that there's a problem with that. It's just not a traditional way to look at a puzzle game, and thank goodness for that. If developers like Capybara Games didn't exist then we might never have a chance for something like Critter Crunch to come out, in all its adorable rainbow vomit glory.
The gameplay is fairly simple, especially if you like reorganizing things. Players control Biggs, the game's poster child and supreme critter cruncher, as they manipulate different creatures hanging above them within columns of vines. By feeding smaller monsters to larger ones, Biggs will eventually get them to explode and drop treasure and power-ups. This is where thins get interesting, with the simple formula. Two critters will pop a larger one, and so will a half full one. Feed a small creature to a larger one, and it'll naturally be eaten by a successor hanging above it. Furthermore, if you pop one like creature, it will chain all those which are alike and touching it. Manage eight at once and your son will run out from hiding so you can barf a stream of vibrant rainbow ingestion into his mouth before he retreats. At this point, the game has everyone's attention.
Most of the game's cleverness comes in how its looks manage to disguise a puzzle game and make it feel like you're messing around with the food chain of some rare habitat. Its hand-drawn HD visuals will certainly turn heads, and thanks to a substantial adventure mode (along with multiplayer and challenge/puzzle additions to boot), it's not just a pretty face. In fact, this is one game where multiplayer is a little enhanced by additional offensive power-ups that will really mess with the other player's space. One especially that may be a close cousin to the fuzzies in Yoshi's Island.
Critter Crunch turns the traditional chain-crazy puzzle genre onto its organic head for a Tropicana of colors and need to feed, with enough substance to call it smart as well. It runs for $6.99 on the PSN and deserves not only to be given a chance, but can be considered to be one of the best downloadable titles of the year. There isn't much to say for a reason, because it starts out with "hand-drawn 2D puzzle game" and ends with "puke in your son's mouth until the rainbow disappears." If that doesn't sway you, then maybe it's back to Tetris.
