Naboki - Thoughts

Would PUSH have been a better game without the fixed perspective? Naboki serves as the answer to this question, continuing its predecessor's penchant for tedious clicking—but this time in the thiiiird dimensiooon! There's actually a little bit of every one of Targoni's puzzle games here, letting you shift, rotate, and align blocks, all while taking into account the physical space these puzzle cubes occupy. It's a clever game that is unquestionably better than PUSH, however it bears an unfortunate flaw: Naboki is too short.

Now, I understand that complaining about the brevity of a Marciej Targoni game is an oxymoron, like whining about a Team Ninja title being difficult; the alleged foible is the appeal of the developer. But whereas PUSH and Up Left Out provide complete experiences, Naboki feels as if it was cut short, lacking 10 puzzles or so. Perhaps it's just my imagination—klocki lasts just as long (50 minutes) yet I didn't ding it for its length—but I still would've liked to see maybe a little more from Naboki. One or two more mechanics would've really hit the spot, or a couple more levels that utilize every mechanic you've learned thus far.

Although in hindsight, perhaps it had enough mechanics by the end; puzzles in Naboki become so convoluted that you can't help but bumble your way through. I wouldn't go as far as calling it "trial and error" but Naboki borrows from PUSH's tediousness, delaying your victory with a checklist of switches that need flicking. Thankfully, Naboki counters its predecessor's failing by offering the player freedom—in the form of the third dimension. Whereas PUSH was designed around clicking on stuff in a preset order, Naboki centers itself around exploration. You're expected to spin its puzzle cubes as inquisitively as a tot at daycare, hunting for the right spot to begin chipping away. While it can feel a bit plodding at times (especially when there's half a dozen switches on screen), Naboki manages to remain more playful than dull, largely because progress is never ripped away. Every step you take towards the solution is permanent; every block removed gradually reveals your victory.

Naboki can be a bit cumbersome at times—particularly if you struggle with object permanence—but it's still a fun game to spend some of your downtime on. I found Targoni's description of it as a "disassemble puzzle" to be quite apt, evoking the same strange catharsis found in unraveling a Lego structure brick by brick. Naboki is patient, humble, and sadly brief; give it a go if you like seeing your puzzles crumble.