Bouncy cell block-buster Holedown is worming its means onto Steam. Following sensible, summary kinda-sorta-RTS Rymdkapsel, Swedish developer Martin “Grapefrukt” Jonasson’s 2018 puzzler is a deceptively good little gem that has you shattering planets on the behest of an ever-present communist worm. Two years later, the worm’s area is spreading to PC – and this time, you possibly can convey a pal.
Jonasson introduced the upcoming PC launch in a Tweet earlier week, with the game’s new Steam web page noting a launch “eventually”.
Comrades, https://t.co/7PxLyMy2U4 is 50% off!
Oh, and it is coming to Steam too!https://t.co/375H6zhZmS pic.twitter.com/RiznTfvujW
— grapefrukt (@grapefrukt) March 26, 2020
Oh the face of it, Holedown isn’t too complicated. Shoot balls at a grid of numbered blocks to convey them right down to zero, bursting them earlier than they Tetris their technique to the highest. So far, so “hyper-casual mobile game”. But Holedown has some beautiful complexity hidden up its sleeve, sufficient that I spent the higher a part of two months in 2018 doing nothing however shoot worms down a brightly-coloured pit.
See, it’s all about useful resource administration – balancing restricted pictures and a set variety of balls-per-shot to make it by means of every stage with sufficient pictures to shatter the ultimate “core”. Some blocks provides you with extra balls when damaged or unlock improve gems, whereas others gained’t collapse when the bottom’s shot out from beneath them. Holedown is a game that lives for the second the place you nail a shot that lands your fresh-faced worm balls in a closed loop, tearing a 300-count block right down to zero in seconds.
Never thoughts that Holedown is deeply pleasant in each interplay. The means blocks bounce and shudder with a muted “pop”. The excellent second of slowdown when a hard and fast block brings a complete display crashing down with its demise. The worm’s candy Marxism murmuring in your ear with every hypnotic sway, backed by a space-acid soundtrack as wobbly as Holedown’s blocks.
When it arrives on Steam, Holedown will sport native co-op (and sure on-line, by way of Steam Remote Play Together). For now, Jonasson reckons it’ll be Windows-only – although may very well be persuaded to go to Mac in case you nag him enough.
