Room-spinning puzzler available now
While most of Hamster’s Neo Geo releases consist of SNK’s flagship titles – or at least franchises that may jump-start your nostalgia cells – today’s release, coming to PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, is a little more left-field.
Developed by FACE, Gururin is a block-busting puzzle title that hit the Neo Geo in 1994. Although at first glance your standard Puyo-Puyo-esque tile matcher, Gururin takes pride in its complete weirdness. Rather than blocks, a colour-clothed chibi civilization fall from the top of the screen, and the player must rotate the board in order to match them up with their similarly-coloured pals.
Problems arise when some of the tiny characters get attached, literally, holding hands and refusing to let go. The player must micro-manage the board to hit a specified target to complete the stage. Reaching your goal before the opponent bags you the win. Oh, right, opponents include an emotional insect-human hybrid, a fox who has joined a biker gang, and a drunken, aristocratic… squirrel? tanuki? I’m not so sure.
The game also has a super low bit soundtrack which, considering the release year, is about a decade out of time. Even the classic opening Neo Geo jingle sounds off. Regardless, if you fancy taking a step into Gururin‘s weird world, then the game is available today on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.