Stoppa!

Interesting gameplay mechanics mean a lot in a video game, because they have the power to make everything else seem less relevant. Even if they are very simplistic, gamers can have a lot of fun using them to advance through the levels. Hence, it doesn’t take much to make a very successful game, as long as you include a couple of interesting ideas to keep the players occupied.

Stoppa! is a puzzle game that sports basic 2D graphics and unimpressive levels, in which your main ability is stopping time. By doing so, you get the opportunity to rearrange objects and clear a path for your character to advance, as well as disable traps before they kill you. Boss fights are also part of the deal, and you must really master the art of time control in order to defeat them.

Things are a bit more complicated than that, on the other hand, because there are certain rules you must follow. As such, you often have a limited number of charges for your time stopping ability, which means that it’s imperative to take advantage of each one of them. Not only that, but certain sections do not allow you make use of the machinery at all, so you must find alternative ways to get past them.

Another thing that makes the experience challenging is the fact that your character keeps moving forward at all times, and you do not actually control him in any way. The most you can do is make sure that the path ahead is clear of any traps. It’s easy to get stuck as well if you do not pay enough attention to the objects you manipulate, or if you run out of charges at the wrong time.

There are a couple of flaws you have to deal with as well, such as the fact that there are no checkpoints. Hence, it’s imperative that you pass the entire level in one go, otherwise you have to restart from the beginning. There’s also a lot of trial and error involved, because some of the traps are impossible to predict or figure out without seeing how they work. Thankfully, they’re not too complicated anyway, so you only need to see them once.

Although Stoppa! could use a bit of work in certain areas, the idea itself is quite fun, and the levels are challenging enough to keep you playing for a while. However, a checkpoint system would go a long way to eliminate some of the unnecessary frustration.