Sliding Hero turns a contentious puzzle type into an otherworldly jaunt through a cursed Venetian carnival
Scorrevole!
I’d initially assumed that puzzle game Sliding Hero counts was a Sokoban-like, until I realised that it’s actually you, not endless boxes, that do the sliding here. Still, I wasn’t entirely convinced. The only thing that’s fun to slide back-and-forth indefinitely is a lounging cat on a smooth kitchen worktop. Still, after messing around with Sliding Hero’s Steam demo, I think this one might have much longer legs than its restrictive-sounding concept suggests. All the better to endlessly slide with.
First off, I am an absolute sucker for Venetian carnivalesque trappings. This is partly to do with classic Italian Commedia dell'arte tropes like the Zanni, partly from the miniatures game Carnevale, and partly from Thomas Ligotti’s Teatro Grottesco. It’s such fertile stuff for horror and fantasy, and I’m always delighted to see it pop up in games. The actual game is fairly taut and humble pixel art, albeit with the occasionally wild background feature, like a very large person emerging from a hole in the ground. The character art, conversely, reminds me of Supergiant games like Hades or Pyre, and even coming close to that is a lovely feat of doodling magnificence.
Your character, Luca, only moves by sliding, and always as far as possible in the given direction. Thus, you’ll need to block yourself with environmental obstacles to progress. You’ll also need to clear each screen of enemies before moving on, which you accomplish by sliding into them, preferably after collecting a weapon. There are hop-able pitfalls, timed spiked traps, and other hazards trying to ruin your slideathon. You can also get acquainted with lore-snippets by putting the extra legwork in to collect optional scrolls. The maps string together metroidvania-style, with new paths opening once you grab certain upgrades.
I can see this being a Marmite job, simply because it’s based so heavily around a certain type of puzzle, apparently inspired by Pokémon’s ice caves. Still, there’s a lot of imagination here, and it does look to add new wrinkles and ideas the further you progress. Did I write about it just so I got to use the word ‘carnivalesque’? Not entirely, no. Was that a massive factor? Look, it’s a good word!