Tupsu (The Furry Little Monster) Review

In Tupsu, players have to navigate an adorable little fuzz-ball creature around 45 levels of floating islands, collecting stars as they go.

Controls include two gestures: swiping Tupsu's sticky and stretchy eyeball to the nearest island, and tapping to release the eyeball's grip. The physics work well and the game is therefore increasingly challenging, as players must time their swings and jumps correctly, to avoid falling into nothingness.

As Tupsu enters each of the 3 current worlds, he gains another eyeball, adding some much needed extra support for those tricky manoeuvres. To help the little critter on his way, there are wooden boxes that can be placed strategically, molecular-altering blocks that when touched allow Tupsu to move through walls, and anti-gravity buttons that provide a new perspective.

The visuals are crisp and cute, but the soundtrack is what makes the whole thing an unexpectedly relaxing affair. Rather than creating an inane tune that could have driven everyone crazy, the developers have chosen to use soundscapes and futuristic sound effects. This is a great addition for a game that has the potential to become frustrating, due to the occasionally unforgiving physics.

A big area of weakness for the game comes from the lack of variety in the environments: the fact that the same basic terrain is used over and over makes the gameplay feel a little same-y. The ability to zoom out would also be a welcome addition, as sometimes I felt a little aimless whilst navigating the larger stages in particular.

Tupsu is a solid physics-based casual game that stars a loveable character, a cool soundtrack and a fair number of levels to work through. Unfortunately, a lack of variety in both level design and therefore gameplay mean that Tupsu could wear a little thin, sooner rather than later.