Hungry Gows Review

Sometimes doing things in reverse can be interesting, or even fun. Such is the case with Hungry Gows. Of course, we're not sure what a Gow is, precisely. regardless, these groups of blobs need to be taken out, but when they pile together in bizarre configurations it can be trickier then expected.

In a basic sense, Hungry Gows is a lot like playing World of Goo backwards. Instead of constructing a tower of slime to help a bunch of sentient goo balls reach an exit, players have to exterminate the cute little buggers as efficiently as possible. Tapping most of them will be enough to get rid of them but some blobs require a bit more finesse. Once players are faced with a pinwheel comprised of blobs that can only be snuffed out by environmental hazards as well as some that must be dispatched last it can take quite a few attempts to complete a stage, let alone nab a three-star rating.

The secret to Hungry Gows is the physics. Removing the right blob at the right time can bring everything crashing down in a spectacular fashion and sometimes clear an entire level with just a single well-placed tap. Other times it can be an important tool for flinging a tough blob into a bed of spikes. Most of the puzzles can be solved with relative ease, but figuring out how to clear them with only a couple of taps can be quite rewarding.

The downside to this is that Hungry Gows isn’t incredibly clear with its requirements. I can never quite tell how many taps are needed to earn three stars. Sometimes I finish in three taps and earn two stars, sometimes I finish with five and earn three. It’s rather inconsistent from level to level, and while I imagine that’s because of the varying complexity it would still be nice to know what my goal is.

Hungry Gows looks a little simple and can be a tad unclear with its criteria at times, but it’s still a largely enjoyable game. Maybe it’s because I like destroying cute things but I’ve been having a lot of fun making these impromptu structures topple in as few moves as possible.