A lot of people have been talking about the physics-based indie puzzle title, World of Goo, and for good reason—the game combines a simple yet effective concept with a charming aesthetic appeal, and a nicely sloped level of difficulty.

The core concept of the game is incredibly simple: get as many goo balls as possible from one point to the goal (a pipe). You’ll do so by using your available goo balls to construct wobbly goo-based towers upon which other goo balls can travel. Goo balls serve as the corners of the tower, and stretch elongated strings of goo between one another; non-utilized goo balls travel on these strings in a closed-circuit style, and if your construct ends close enough to the pipe, they’ll be sucked in. In the first level or two this is extremely easy, but as the game progresses, obstacles are introduced and new, death—and physics—defying twists and turns are required to make your goo tower reach goo heaven.

Later levels also introduce new types of goo. There are goo balls that float, goo balls that always hang down, ones that stick; it’s a nice variety to utilize in your goo-tower-building endeavors.

It’s not the variety of goo or their oddly cute dying screams that make the game so appealing, though—it’s the incredible physics driving it. Goo towers react exactly how you would expect towers constructed with sentient goo would in the real world, toppling over if one side is too heavy, drooping if the top becomes too high for the base, and more. Early in the game it’s fun to just build as high and long as possible, but once you begin being introduced to obstacles (such as floating platforms that require very precise balance to be kept from tilting), the physics play an even bigger role.

Attaching a floating goo ball to the end of your construct in order to raise it high enough to reach a new plateau may be a nice idea on paper, but what happens when that balloon hits a spike or some other obstacle, pops, and your sudden, goo-laden creation becomes a victim of gravity? Well, you can be sure it’s not (usually) good.

If World of Goo has any faults, it’s that the game is too short, and once you’ve beaten it there’s not more for a lot of gamers to enjoy. While some will happily go back and replay the same levels over and over (I know I have), others looking for more content will likely find the replay value lacking. There is a nice extra where surplus goo balls collected throughout the game are added to a sandbox-like mode for you to play with, but it’s limited to a certain number of goos which makes it feel a little disappointing compared to what it could have been.

Still, World of Goo is a fantastic game, and without a doubt the best WiiWare title on the market. I’d even go as far as saying it’s one of the most enjoyable titles on the Wii, period. And, for you PC gamers, World of Goo is without a doubt one of the best indie titles on Steam (or for other forms of digital distribution). The game features charming animate balls of goo, a refreshingly fun gameplay concept, and some of the best puzzling available on either platform.

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