Nukezilla Review: This Way That Way (Xbox Live Indie Games)

This Way That Way seems like a game that would become wonderfully popular pre-packaged with most in-box PCs. It’s got a simple mechanic that’s as easy to pick up as it is difficult to master. But at the end of the day nothing sticks with you; there’s nothing mind-blowing about it. You keep picking up Minesweeper when you’ve got a small amount of downtime. That doesn’t mean you remember anything about any of the maps you’ve played that day (or ever). This Way That Way is that forgettable, but while playing, in the moment, it’s a damn fun little game.

TWTW, as the name hints to, is all about movement; controlling your character is the puzzle itself. Your character can go in one direction as long as they want. Changing direction is simple, but coming back to the original direction is not. If you move one way and change direction, you can’t move in the original direction until you move in every other direction. To move (for instance) left again after going up, you must first go right and down. An icon in the upper right of the screen shows you which directions you can currently move, and which are blocked until you complete the cycle. It’s a bit confusing at first (again, like Minesweeper), but once you get the hang of it you’ll grow to love it.

The game’s big for an indie title, with 100+ levels at your disposal. Since not every puzzle needs to be completed to unlock new ones, the hardest of the bunch can be saved for later. I should also say that the levels get damn hard later on; be prepared to spend more than a few hair-pullingly frustrating minutes figuring out the proper course of action.

Rewards are given for completing each level in a set number of moves. Match the number and you get a star; get enough stars to unlock extra characters (basically just reskins of the main character and enemies). After every 25 levels completed you unlock a new “class” of levels, meaning a new set usually with different obstacles.

Those obstacles are few and far between, but used very effectively. Some levels have pushable blocks and some have holes that you can use the blocks to cross over. Some levels have patrolling enemies that can kill you on touch or be used to push blocks to other areas. You’ve also got breakable floors, dangerous lasers, and a few other surprises to make sure you’re given a challenge every step of the way.

There’s nothing striking about the presentation; the graphics are nice, but nothing to write home about. The tutorial “cutscenes” that set up new obstacles are kind of cute, showing off what “this guy” and “that enemy” can do. Happily, the game’s only (continuously looping) song is actually pretty great, worth the price of admission alone. That price, by the way, is an extremely reasonable 80 MS points. If you’re looking for a somewhat inventive new puzzle mechanic in a sensible package, This Way That Way might just be the little title for you.

Disclaimer: Nukezilla received a review code from developer murphwich.