Boyz: Big Bang Review

Offering something fairly different from the rest, at least in terms of thematic elements, Boyz: Big Bang holds some promise. It's just a shame that it can prove to be quite a frustrating game at times.

Players control the movements of sperm while they're trying to make their way to an egg. Yup, I can safely say I've never played a game with such an aim before. It's kind of charmingly done here, with the sperm featuring cute faces and the egg all too eager to give the sperm a big hug. That's assuming they manage to meet, of course, which is where the player's deeds feature prominently.

Much like a physics puzzle game, but with more of an arcade slant to things, players must encourage the sperm to bounce upwards. Coming down the tube, they find themselves on a trampoline of sorts which the player must manipulate in order to flip them upwards, kind of like in a pinball machine. Early stages merely require that sole action, but later stages involve sending the sperm in certain directions in order to open up closed tunnels or duck out of the way of blockages. Throughout, three stars are available to collect along the way in order to unlock new levels.

It's fairly typical physics-based stuff, albeit with an original theme. It's unfortunate then that the physics themselves seem a little off. At times, I found myself having to restart levels because the sperm had gotten trapped somewhere that I had no way of moving them out of. Other times, it felt that success was more down to luck than skill. In both cases, it can get frustrating. The ability to tilt the sperm in some way would have gone a long way to giving the player some additional control. As it stands, such randomness lets it down and affects the fun that is previously enjoyed.

Boyz: Big Bang is charming but quite flawed. At its budget price, it's still mildly beguiling with much of that thanks to the cutesy sperm and eggs but it works as a passing interest rather than anything long term. With a few fixes, Boyz: Big Bang could have been something special, but as it stands it's not quite there yet.