World of Goo Review

By Kevin Mitchell  |  Posted: March 20, 2017

Released nine years ago on PC and Wii, World of Goo was one of the first games that really catapulted the indie development scene as we know it today. Hell, according to some bits of scrap paper I have filed away, SelectButton was still in its early infancy stages with some rough layout drawings and a laundry list of ideas. Developed initially by indie studio 2D BOY, World of Goo has been released on the Nintendo Switch by Tomorrow Corporation, which is comprised of one of the co-founders of 2D BOY and the creative genius behind World of Goo.

Across highly stylized and charming visuals, you must collect as much goo as possible by building bridges and towers out of the goo balls. Use too many in your construction, and you won't have enough to complete the level. While it has been quite some time since I played the game—probably the year it came out—I felt right at home with the Switch Joy-Cons. I opted to play with the console docked, although you can play using touch screen controls if you are using the Switch in handheld mode. One of the best aspects of World of Goo involves the pacing, as new mechanics are introduced after you've mastered previous ones. It almost perfectly blends, and although some levels may feel slightly more challenging, the progression feels natural. After perfecting the act of tower and bridge building, you must use lighter-than-air goo, working as balloons to keep bridges from hitting spikes or elevate a platform high into the sky.

Nothing new was added to the Switch version of the game outside of the soundtrack, which can be played from the Switch's home screen menu. I did notice that when using pointer controls with the Joy-Cons, I had to recenter the cursor after every level. Calibrating the controller only requires you to press the plus or minus button, depending on which one you are using, and it will recenter the cursor. While it wouldn't be efficient, I still would have liked to see Pro Controller support for analog control, as I don't believe the Pro Controller supports gyroscopic pointer mechanics. If it does, then this is a no-brainer. While some may scoff that a two-handed controller is not the best means to play the game, which is true, having a controller shut off because you opened a game that doesn't support it is completely backward.

Simply Put

World of Goo was one of the best indie games the year it initially released and has aged incredibly well. Both control methods serve the game well, but if you have larger fingers, you may want to opt for the pointer controls. If you've never played the game, you owe it to yourself to pick it up on Nintendo's newest hardware.