World of Goo 2 review: puzzle classic gets the meta sequel it deserves

World of Goo 2 MSRP $30.00 Score Details Pros

Ingenious puzzles
Clever new gimmicks
Takes a surprising turn
Looks and sounds great

Cons

Some dud ideas
Sloppy controls
Frustrating undo button

Once upon a time, a game likeWorld of Goo 2 didn’t need to exist. A creative studio like Tomorrow Corporation could create a successful game, make a name for itself off that success, and move on to its next project. These days, however, IP has become as good as gold and audiences are hungrier than ever to see them mined for all they’re worth. Sequels, remakes, remasters — if your hit game isn’t franchising, does it make a sound?

Leave it a studio as fiercely satirical as Tomorrow Corporation to critique that insatiable hunger in a meta sequel. World of Goo 2 doesn’t just deliver a new set of ingenious physics-based puzzles. The left-field release serves as a commentary on World of Goo’s own legacy, imagining an alternate timeline where the series never stopped feeding the flame it sparked in 2008. As sharp as that vision is, World of Goo 2 is hampered by a few bum gimmicks and sloppy controls that bog down the high-concept sequel.

More, more, more

Like its 2008 predecessor, World of Goo 2 is a puzzle game that’s all about physics and engineering. Levels have players building wobbly structures out of goo balls in order to reach a pipe. That simple concept gets twisted and turned in dozens of ways with additional goo types and level gimmicks like lava. The twist this time is that there’s an emphasis on liquids, as players often guide geysers of thick oil around mazelike stages. That little tweak makes a 16-year old formula feel as creative as ever.

Tomorrow Corporation is at its most creative here, turning levels into Rube Golberg machines. In one, I need to find a way to push around a giant goo ball and grind it up to make smaller ones. Another has me carefully building bridges out of matchsticks over pools of lava. The tension of the original game is enhanced by ideas