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By RyanD (24th Jul 2008)Absolutely adorabubble. It seems that great design and technology that doesn’t involve blowing people’s heads off doesn’t belong solely to the Japanese.

Soul Bubbles opens with the Mekensleep logo and a black screen displaying the following disclaimer:

THIS GAME DOES NOT DEPICT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING OBJECTS OR EVENTS:
*LICENSED RACING CARS*
*POST-APOCALYPTIC SOLDIERS*
*ELFS, ORCS OR MAGICIANS*
*GANG FIGHTS*
PLEASE DO NOT PANIC!
IT’S ALL GONNA BE HUNKY DORY...

It appears to me that Mekensleep, whomever they may be, are calling 90% of the gaming world out.

That’s pretty ballsy, especially considering the violent, brainwashed, maniacal, blood-hungry idiots we all - obviously - are. One might even deign to call this kind of behaviour Arrogance. In Mekensleep’s defence: they are French. So where did they get these cojones? What have they got under their kilts (the French wear kilts, don’t they?) that makes them think they can smack-talk the salivating zombie hordes of Popular Gaming? Their secret weapon, as it turns out, is Loveliness. Sheer, unadulterated loveliness.

The disclaimer put me on the back foot, I will admit, but after just five minutes playing Soul Bubbles, Mekensleep could issue a press release calling my mother a whore and I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. The game is just too lovely. I hesitate to use the word cute here, for reasons I’ll explain later on. First, initial rantings dispensed with, I should explain just what the hell this game is.

As the name suggests, there’s some Souls (adorable little buggers), and it’s your job to guide them into the great hereafter by putting them in Bubbles, and blowing them through a maze. That’s the gist. Don’t worry, it’s not a Rub Rabbits-esque birthday-cake simulator that’ll have you blowing into the DS mic like a twat, it’s all taken care of (very intuitively) with the touchscreen. As the (also very adorable) new apprentice soul-shepherd in town, you’ll be receiving direction throughout the game from an equally adorable Yoda-style mentor-soul-shepherd.

The only tools you’ll require, apart from your breath, as you herd the titular soul-bubbles through the 40-odd levels are three purpose-built bubble-wrangling masks, all of which are, as you may well guess, also adorable. There’s the sweet-as-pie Bird mask that allows you to draw a fresh bubble around things, the cute-as-a-button Elephant mask for deflating oversized bubbles (and occasionally deflating spiny enemies), and the woogie-woogie-woo Tiger mask for slicing up bubbles, or just about anything else.

There, it happened, I just used the C-word. I knew I couldn’t avoid it for long. I’ll explain why I hesitate here. Cuteness, in the world of games, has become the almost-exclusive property of the Japanese in recent years. Now don’t get me wrong, I like a crazy lightbulb-eyed kitten/bunny/panda/turnip as much as the next person, but we have been trained somewhat in what to expect from Cuteness, lately. Europeans, traditionally, concern themselves far more with the perfect recreation of World War II tanks and farmhouses in games, rather than cuteness. But this one is different. It is cute, but it’s an earthy, pagan-inspired; an Indigenous kind of cute. Rather than the (what I can only assume is) magic-mushroom inspired cuteness of Japan. And now back to The Game, again.

Sound also plays a key role in the lovely, floaty atmosphere of Soul Bubbles. The sound effects are muted, organic and friendly. The soundtrack is soothing, quirky, and changes subtly with the environment and situation. Even when it’s hectic, it’s never too hectic, just like the rest of the game.

These few simple elements may not sound like much, but they give rise to a surprising amount of variety in exploration and puzzle-solving in this nature-soaked little charmer. The levels display all of the platforming-world’s staples: there’s fire, there’s water, there’s ice, there’s desert, jungle even. What’s so impressive about Soul Bubbles is the care and attention to detail displayed in every adorable little corner of it. Leaves flutter in the breeze, dandelions blow peacefully to pieces, seaweed wafts, dust swirls, and the bubbles… oh the bubbles. I can honestly say that this is the best bubble-physics I’ve ever seen in a game, on any console. I don’t think I’ve seen it done much, but certainly never better. The way they glob onto each other, jiggle and slurp around the environs is nothing short of inspired. To put it simply: the way it plays makes you want to play it. This allows for something subtly but distinctly different in the gameplay, with an emphasis on exploration and quality of experience, rather than pushing the player or the technology to its limits.

This, I think, is the real guts behind Mekensleep’s yeah-we-know-we’re-good attitude. They have taken a very different tack to even most other puzzle-games: rather than reward the player through relentless challenges, they choose to make the whole experience equally rewarding. Soul Bubbles has been criticised for it’s lack of difficulty, but I don’t think it’s such a bad thing. It’s… slightly difficult, every now and then, sort of, a bit. Personally, I’m finding it quite a nice change to not be frustrated to the point of insanity for once. I don’t think we’ll see many Nintendo DS’s hit the wall over Soul Bubbles, the worst that could happen might be a few dead batteries for those that fall peacefully to sleep while playing.

While it’s obviously no substitute for painting the walls with brains (MWAAHAAHAAHAAAAAAA!!!), I think Soul Bubbles can show gamers a refreshing change of pace, a touch of charm or, dare I say it: a little class. They will insist on acting all French about it, but I think Mekensleep have earned their bragging rights.