Sokobond
A Sokoban-style puzzle game about bonding atoms into molecules.
Sokobond is a puzzle game by Alan Hazelden and Harry Lee where players move atoms across 2D grids to build chemical compounds. It launched for Linux, OS X, and Windows in August 2013, followed by a Nintendo Switch release in September 2021, and iOS and Android versions in May 2022. Critics gave it generally favorable reviews. In each level, the player controls one atom on a grid with walls and other atoms. Moving atoms next to each other bonds them, and they then move together as a compound. Five elements appear: carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and helium, which can form four, three, two, one, and zero bonds respectively. Hazelden and Lee developed the game independently, with music by Allison Walker. It first released on PC on August 27, 2013, then on Steam after community greenlighting. The Switch port arrived on September 2, 2021, and mobile ports on May 19, 2022. Review aggregator Metacritic rated it "generally favorable." Critics praised the chemistry theme for making the game’s abstractions clear without requiring chemistry knowledge, and lauded its minimal visual and level design. Eurogamer noted the game added difficulty without increasing element count. Killscreen highlighted how it reused few elements in many intriguing ways. Destructoid felt the simple art and sound mirrored the gameplay’s simplicity. Comparisons to Sokoban were common: Eurogamer found the themed levels and nonlinear progression an improvement, while Rock Paper Shotgun contrasted it with Sokoban’s frustrating levels. Sokobond was a finalist at the 2013 IndieCade festival and received an honorable mention for Excellence in Audio at the 2014 Independent Games Festival. A follow-up, Sokobond Express, combines Sokobond with Hazelden’s Cosmic Express. Developed by José Hernández, it has no grid boundaries and ignores orientation. Based on Hernández’s earlier Subatomic Wire (published on itch.io in 2020), Draknek picked it up for publishing. Announced on July 27, 2021, it released for Windows, macOS, and Linux on February 22, 2024.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Sokobond
- Designer
- Alan Hazelden · Harry Lee
- Programmer
- Alan Hazelden
- Artist
- Harry Lee
- Composer
- Allison Walker
- Platforms
- Linux · OS X · Microsoft Windows · Nintendo Switch · iOS · Android
- Released
- Linux, OS X, Windows · 27 August 2013 · Nintendo Switch · 2 September 2021 · iOS, Android · 19 May 2022
- Genre
- Puzzle
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Sokobond is a Sokoban-style puzzle video game themed around creating chemical compounds from atoms. In each level, the player is presented with a 2D grid containing walls and atoms. The player controls one of the atoms, and moves it around the level. Moving atoms next to each other bonds them, and the two atoms then move together as a compound. There are five elements introduced: carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and helium, able to form four, three, two, one, and zero bonds respectively. Mechanics introduced in later sections include introducing objects that can remove bonds, increase the order of a bond, or rearrange bonded molecules. The game was created by independent developers Alan Hazelden and Harry Lee. The game's music was composed by Allison Walker. The game was released on Linux, OS X, Windows-based personal computers on 27 August 2013. The game was later released on the digital distribution service Steam, after being greenlit by the community. On 2 September 2021, the game was released on Nintendo Switch. It was ported to iOS and Android on 19 May 2022.
Reader's Guide
Sokobond received generally favorable reviews from professional critics according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Reviewers generally praised its chemistry theming as aiding in grasping the game's abstractions, without requiring the player to understand chemistry. They also praised Sokobond's minimalism, both in terms of visual design and level design. Eurogamer appreciated that the game added difficulty without increasing the number of elements in a level. Killscreen commented that the game managed to reuse its few elements in many intriguing ways. Destructoid found that the simplicity of the art and sound direction elegantly mirrored the simplicity of the gameplay. The game was favorably compared to its inspiration Sokoban. Eurogamer opined that the theming of levels around mechanics and nonlinear level progression made it better. Rock Paper Shotgun contrasted it with the frustrating nature of Sokoban levels. The game was showcased as a finalist in the 2013 IndieCade festival, and received an honorable mention in the 2014 Independent Games Festival in the category 'Excellence in Audio'.
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