Patrick’s Parabox
The Summer of Games : Day Seven
Boxes within boxes within boxes! Push boxes around a small level into white spaces and slot yourself in the space with eyes to complete it. The demo starts simple but soon introduces boxes that contain boxes and can contain boxes themselves if you push against them when they’re next to a wall. Soon, you’re pushing around a box that contains the entire level and can “break” levels by pushing these boxes outside of themselves.
All of the boxes give off little box particles of the same colour and your character is surprisingly cute for a pink box with eyes so even when you’re stuck, it isn’t too stressful to sit on a screen, especially with Priscilla Snow’s chipper ambient soundtrack.
Some of the optional levels, marked with a red outline and off the beaten path, give an idea of the brain bending puzzles developer Patrick Traynor has concocted. Taking between 15 minutes to an hour depending on how sharp you are, the demo only hints at the complexity that awaits in the hundreds of puzzles in the full game.
In a word : boxes…
Patrick’s Parabox is a puzzle game developed and published by Patrick Traynor for PC via Itch and Steam and ported to PS5 and Nintendo Switch by Draknek Limited.
This article is part of the Summer of Demos series, where I’ll be releasing a Demo Diving preview article each day in July. If you liked this article, be sure to share it with a friend or enemy. If you back me on Patreon, you get access to articles one day before they release anywhere else. If we reach £25/month before the end of July, I’ll extend the Summer of Demos into August.
This article was a little different, covering a game that came out a while ago, but one I’ve been meaning to write about for a while. Unlike all the others I’ve talked about, you can actually buy this one right now if you so wish. Hope you liked it!