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Volvox

$9.99
Release Date:
Developer:
Neotenia
Publisher:
Neotenia
Platforms:
Windows Mac Linux
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About This Game

The Trimoebas are unicellular animals that populate the primordial soup and move by rolling. Their dream is to build the first multicellular creatures. To succeed in creating order from chaos, they will have to dig tunnels, build towers, and construct bridges — having no tools but their triangular bodies and their special abilities!

Using just 7 of these abilities, Volvox offers 250 hand-drawn levels, for about 60 hours of play, and that's without counting achievements and stats! This variety of situations is possible thanks to the versatile main mechanic, inspired by the physical phenomenon of "rolling without slipping", the relationship between the path traveled by a body — in this case a Trimoeba! — and its rotation. Level surfaces and Trimoebas influence each other, resulting in intricate puzzles and enigmatic challenges.

Volvox's difficulty escalates quickly, but it does not require fast response times or specialized experience. It is difficult because almost no one is used to thinking in terms of rotating triangles: for this reason, both hardcore and casual players can find it interesting and challenging. Upon completing the game for the first time, a new advanced mode will be unlocked to test your skills in a different way. Volvox is not just a traditional puzzle game, as it is also designed as mental flexibility training, encouraging the player to continuously find new ways to use the resources available, to contrast the phenomenon of "functional fixedness".

Volvox is a game richly filled with triangles, eyes, and curls, which appear constantly in various forms in characters, controls, and backgrounds, for a strongly organic aesthetic. The game's visual style comes from watercolor painting, and this art style consciously alludes to cellular diffusion phenomena. In addition to the advanced mode mentioned above, completing the game for the first time unlocks new options to change the backgrounds in 16 variants, altering your perception of Volvox while experimenting with the second mode.
The sound effects and music were produced by making extensive use of a unique instrument called a "hang". The hang is a recent invention, lacking previous cultural connections, perfect to portray a time before time: the time of life's beginning.
The themes of birth and reproduction are interlaced with the game's primary campaign, presenting a strong message of love for life and celebrating life's beauty in all its shapes, down to the simplest worm.

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User Reviews

Mixed
7 user reviews
57%
Positive
2 hrs at review
Not Recommended

I am sad to give this a thumbs down as it has a lot going for it. It is one of the most original games I have seen, it is excellent value for money, it has been made with a huge amount of love and care, and it is extremely clever. The trouble is it gets boring quickly. I am quite sure that I am exactly the right sort of person for this game. I like intricate puzzles, I like geometry and combinatorial maths and I am unusually patient. But I found I was doing most of the levels by trial error. The ones I hit upon quickly were unsatisfying and the ones that took a long time were frustrating. I still want to congratulate the developers. It really is a nice idea.

6 helpful
31 min at review
Recommended

Really neat puzzle game! The mechanic is unique and challenging to wrap your head around, the visuals are really cute and the premise about forming the first multi-cellular organisms is unbelievably creative and fits the game really well! You can really tell how much love the developer put into this game

3 helpful
9 hrs at review
Recommended

Just two words: wonderful game. Graphics, music, gameplay, plot. All components are excellent and unusual. It's a shame so many people don't even know about it. Buy it, play it, then recommend it to your friend - that's right thing to do.

3 helpful
50 min at review
Not Recommended

The game's not bad. You can see they put effort in to it. But still, it got boring quickly for me

55 min at review
Not Recommended

Buy this only if you're into puzzles and play most of the better ones already. Puzzles are not my cup of tea, but I could sit throught it if it has a descent music and art style. This one has non of it. and the price is an issue, I would't be so hard on this game if it costs lower

System Requirements

Minimum

Minimum:
  • OS *: Windows XP Service Pack 3
  • Processor: 2GHz Dual Core
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: ATI or NVidia card w/ 512 MB RAM
  • Storage: 200 MB available space
  • Additional Notes: On some computers the Steam Overlay interferes with the game in windowed, mode causing crash (or plain color screen). In this cases, please try the fullscreen mode or disable the Steam Overlay.

FAQ

How much does Volvox cost?

Volvox costs $9.99.

What are the system requirements for Volvox?

Minimum: Minimum: OS *: Windows XP Service Pack 3 Processor: 2GHz Dual Core Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: ATI or NVidia card w/ 512 MB RAM Storage: 200 MB available space Additional Notes: On some computers the Steam Overlay interferes with the game in windowed, mode causing crash (or plain color screen). In this cases, please try the fullscreen mode or disable the Steam Overlay.

What platforms is Volvox available on?

Volvox is available on Windows PC, macOS, Linux.

Is Volvox worth buying?

Volvox has 57% positive reviews from 7 players.

When was Volvox released?

Volvox was released on Dec 7, 2015.

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