It’s been nearly 5 years of BoxBoy games. We’ve had three great platform puzzlers on the 3DS so far, and now it’s time for Qbby to make an appearance on the Switch. Is this just a best of BoxBoy collection, or are HAL Laboratories thinking outside of the box?

To begin, what is BoxBoy? Qbby is the titular BoxBoy, and initially his power is to generate boxes that link together and can be used to help cross gaps, protect from lasers and activate switches. As you progress you’ll unlock more abilities using blocks. If you’ve played any of the previous entries you’ll be very familiar here. New abilities are given to you at a decent rate to keep the puzzles in between from wearing out their welcome.

If you’ve spent enough time with Qbby or prefer a change in character, you can also swap over to the BoxGirl Qucy at anytime between levels. Levels don’t play any differently, but it’s a neat choice to have. Is there any rhyme or reason to why you’re solving all these puzzles? The actual story in the game is minimal at best and is presented through small cutscenes. A comet is heading for the world that BoxBoy and friends live on, and it’s going to take a lot of puzzle solving to save the world. It’s cute in its presentation, much like everything else in the game. By the end of the solo mode they give you enough to want to see the whole game through.

Initially I thought that this game would be something similar to a compilation of the levels jam packed into the 3DS iterations. Going back to the older games and looking at it on the Switch, it’s surprising at times how the older games looked even more basic while BoxBoy + BoxGirl is noticeably nicer as far as Box-based games go. As to how much they’ve gone back and reused old puzzles, there’s some familiar feeling basic puzzles using previous games obstacles. Overall, there’s still plenty of puzzle types from the three previous games that miss this new game. But with so many puzzles in this game already, there’s only so much room without introducing too many puzzle elements. Not only are you making your way to the exit, to get medals for collecting crowns dotted around the levels in tricky spots. Now BoxBoy also awards medals for using the lowest number of boxes possible. While it’s not too hard to finish the levels, it will take much more to 100% each level.

Another big addition to BoxBoy + BoxGirl is the Co op mode. Qbby and Qucy have a collection of two player levels, in fact almost as many levels as the solo section. You also have the option of taking on these levels by yourself and controlling both characters for when you just don’t have the numbers. It is much more fun working with a friend through the puzzles if possible. Although it is nice to have the option for everyone to tackle these levels so you’re not missing out, even if it’s not ideal. Much like with the solo mode it can feel like you’re just in tutorial levels before the game really begins, but the Co op levels are more involved from earlier on. Although while they might not be the most challenging levels initially, having the added teamwork and more involving puzzles injects some much needed life into this series, even if you’re going it alone.

BoxBoy + BoxGirl boasts over 270 stages, which is a lot of puzzle solving. You don’t have access to all of those through one mode. That sheer number of head scratchers is spread across A Tale for One (solo), A Tale for Two (co op, although solo is an option) and the Tall Tale (more solo). Between the modes they all do enough to distinguish themselves from one another, Solo is core BoxBoy, Co op only works with Qbby and Qucy working together and puzzles push this.

Qudy joins for a tall tale, his movement is different as you switch between walking upright or walking while laid back as not all spaces are accessible to tall boxes. All three modes are really fun, although the Tale for One option feels like it takes the longest to really get started as it’s the most basic of the group. To get the most out of BoxBoy + BoxGirl you need to finish all of the modes, you should play them all too. Each mode plays differently enough and to get to the more trickier puzzles with Qudy you at least need to finish another mode.

The original 3DS games were visually basic, HAL Laboratory squeezed a lot of charm out of Qbby and friends. In BoxBoy+BoxGirl the world isn’t as monochromatic, even the hazards have been given a new lick of paint with this HD upgrade. But it was a nasty surprise to find that these humble BoxPeople would suffer from strange slow down glitches. I first noticed it happen when playing as Qucy, but it was fairly uncommon. Once I hopped into Co op it happened more often, and even stranger was it was often during things like walking to the exit door. At no time did it mess up the puzzles or make it more difficult to play, but it is still a strange thing to happen. The game definitely benefits from the visual upgrade, it never loses any of that BoxBoy charm in the process.

Now all the medals you collect can be used on a few different things. You can purchase music tracks, comics and bonus balloon levels. You can also take your chances on a gachapon machine to earn different cosmetic changes and costumes for the box person of your choice. One feature lacking from the previous games that is a bit of a let down is that there is no amiibo functionality this time. The game doesn’t suffer for it, but it’s another case of missing out on neat things the original games had.

BoxBoy + BoxGirl is a great puzzle game and more of a charming series is always good. Hopefully there is still more to come, especially when there’s still plenty of puzzle types that haven’t yet moved over from the 3DS games. There’s a fair few hours in solving these small puzzles, but it’s unfortunate that it’s such a slow start to get into the more challenging content. It’s worth it though. If you’re after a puzzle game that’s easy to pick up for short sessions then I absolutely recommend checking out BoxBoy + BoxGirl

Review code provided by Nintendo