[While the new Indie Royale game bundle that we co-created with Desura is running, we’ll be profiling each of the five games featured in it, giving our honest opinion on the pluses and minuses of each title. Today, we take a look at Klei Entertainment’s Eets – a cutesy puzzle game with an unusual collection of fauna. ]
Back before Klei Entertainment was famous, they were .. indie. Honest. I know it’s hard to believe given everything that has happened recently (How’s Electronic Arts doing these days, guys?) but, you know, everyone starts somewhere. And in 2006, Klei Entertainment started with a charming little puzzle game entitled Eets. It was good.
Five years later, it’s still good. Surprisingly good. For those of you who missed the memo the first time around, Eets is probably best described as the cell-shaded love child of Lemmings and The Incredible Machine. Here, you will play as the disembodied but mildly potent entity responsible for transporting the eponymous character to the puzzle each on each level. Is there a reason for this? No, not really. But then again, have epic story lines ever been mandatory?
Speaking of the titular hero, he’s rather adorable for something that is largely a pair of feet, a bulbous white head, black eyes and an assortment of fangs. Eets is also an extremely ’emotional eater’. So emotional, in fact, that he takes the phrase to new heights. Where most eat to compensate for an emptiness in their hearts, Eets is directly influenced by the food he consumes. Scared Marshmallow Buds will turn him into a worried critter that will squeak for his mommy and avoid ledges. Angry Marshmallow Buds, on the other hand, will leave him enraged and prone towards vaulting mindlessly across great distances. As you might have guessed from the Lemmings reference earlier, this isn’t a good thing. Eets, like so many creatures in the genre, has absolutely no sense of self preservation whatsoever.
That’s where you come in. At the beginning of each level, you will be given a few items to help facilitate your attempt to keep Eets alive (and to ensure he reaches the coveted puzzle piece). Actually, come to think about it, they’re less items and more members of a strange and vibrant menagerie. Ginseng Factory that fire marshmallows capable of enraging people? Squid-like aliens named Bob that trigger mass levitation? Prankster whales? Yeah, it’s a weird ecosystem.
Anyway, let’s move on. Once you’ve set your pawns in place, that’s where the real fun starts. Those who have played Lemmings before will find themselves perfectly at home here as gameplay consists primarily of waiting till Eets has reached a specific spot before triggering an item or another. It’s a lot harder than it sounds. A single centimeter can spell the difference between a completed level and a grudging restart. Fortunately, however, the in-built hint system is usually more than sufficient to keep you chugging along.
Cute beyond all reason and vaguely reminiscent of a Saturday morning Japanese cartoon, Eets’ crowning glory is probably the community. I’m not certain as to whether the various level makers are still hard at work but with over 200 fan-made stages to work through, Eets will keep you busy for ages.
Official website here, and you can buy it as part of Indie Royale’s ‘X-Mas Bundle’ for the next few days.
I think the last link is broken? Anyways sounds like a neat game!
Eets is an excellent game. I basically bought the Xmas Bundle just to own it. In fact, for me it is the humour of the “ecosystem” that keeps you playing the puzzles over and over. Yes you fail, and get frustrated, but at least all the wacky nonsense on the screen keeps you a bit more relaxed and cheerful (even smiling at times).
Looks like a sequel is planned: http://kleientertainment.com/yummy/
Eets is a great game that cant be missed and if you loved Lemmings this game will be pure gold to you.
Now I don’t want to be too harsh on Eets as it is certainly a good game, but, for me, the greatest thing about it is that, after playing it for 10mins, it made me reinstall Sid&Al’s Incredible Toons as quickly as possible.
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