Game: Rob Riches
Genre: Adventure, Casual, Indie, Puzzle
System: Steam (Windows)
Developers | Publishers: Megapop
Age Rating: US E | EU 3+
Price: US $6.99 | UK £5.19 | EU € 5,69
Release Date: November 16th, 2021
Review code used, with many thanks to Megapop.
Rob Riches is a Sokoban-type puzzle game from Norwegian developers Megapop. Let’s have a look at it.
Rob Riches
You play the part of fearless explorer Rob on a hunt through Mayan, Viking and Egyptian temples searching for treasure. Rob being the brave explorer, will stop at nothing to get his hands on a few coins.
Rob Riches is a fun puzzle game comprising of three worlds with roughly thirty puzzles in each world. Each puzzle is set out in a simple grid in bite-sized sections. You have to attempt to get Rob to the exit and overcome all the obstacles in your way. Each world has a very distinct feel to it, with its own unique challenges.
Different Environments
You’ll help Rob to push blocks out of the way, use blocks to dodge arrows shooting at him and avoid falling into the hot lava and dodge whirling metal saws. As the environments change in the game, so do the games puzzle mechanics; as in later icy levels, Rob can lose his footing sliding on the ice. So there is a good mix of mechanics introduced throughout the game to keep it fresh and interesting for the player.
Sokoban-type puzzle and More
It should take around two hours to finish the game if you don’t get stuck on a level. There aren’t any timers or any pressure to finish a level within a set time. You can change the settings so the game will count Rob’s steps, meaning you could play the game again and try to beat your step-count, but other than that, there isn’t any replay in the game.
Thinking Cap
I hope you have your thinking cap on while playing Rob Riches; some of the puzzles had me stumped for a while. But with some thought on how to move Rob to the door to finish the level, I managed fine. Rob Riches, like most puzzle games, gets slightly more challenging the further go in the game.
The developers’ have included an undo feature so you can move Rob back a space. There is a re-set button as well to put Rob right back to the start of the level. Having both these options cuts down on the frustration a player would feel having to re-start a puzzle from scratch each time they make a wrong move.
Controls
The controls are simple, you can either use the mouse to direct Rob (or the arrow keys), and he automatically will move a block in front of him. Rob will also bounce on trampolines and collect coins once he steps on the same block on the grid. You can also use a directional pad on the screen by pressing up, down, left and right to move Rob. I tried out both control versions and preferred the keyboard controls overall.
The hand-drawn graphics are crisp and clear, I like the way Rob has been animated as he trundles about from tile to tile. The music is enjoyable and the game has appropriate sound effects.
Conclusion
For those of us who like Sokoban style puzzles, you will find everything you are looking for in Rob Riches. Reasonably priced and a pretty challenging game in the later levels. The game ran fine on my laptop and the controls work as they should. Rob Riches is a solid and enjoyable puzzle game that gets my vote.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up 