Filed under games that make you hungry, Bento Blocks is a logic puzzle game about finding ways to cram all of your food into your bento boxes. It has 180 levels spread across seven chapters, and each chapter introduces new gameplay mechanics, which take Bento Blocks way beyond its initial scope. The game does that thing where it guides the player towards bending an existing rule to solve a new type of puzzle, and in doing so, the player feels a little bit like a genius. You scratch my back, Bento Blocks, and I’ll scratch yours. This is a great game.
Each level is presented with a food preparation area containing a bento box and some cubes of ingredients. Rice will be everywhere, but some cubes will have meat, fish, or vegetables placed on top of the rice, and that’ll be a key mechanic shortly. After the first few levels play like foody jigsaws, you’ll be introduced to a knife to cut ingredients to fit the bento box. You’ll only have a few moves, and Bento Blocks gives you 3 stars if you find the most efficient way to prep the food. You’ll lose a star for each extra use of the knife. As knives change length, direction, and ability to be switched from horizontal to vertical in each level, a large part of the puzzle is working out how to arrange the ingredients to be as efficient with each chop. Your moves will be dictated not just by the bento box’s shape, but also its blueprint. The box will highlight where specific ingredients like meat, fish, or veg must be placed in order to be packed correctly, and you’ll need to chop accordingly. Many levels give you multiple knives, and they all slice together, so you must line everything up before you chop to get that perfect score.
Once the basics are introduced, Bento Blocks starts to play with the main idea. Sometimes it gives you plenty of ingredients you don’t need, making finding the right selection trickier. Some bento boxes will have very specific designs that require decorative cuts into the rice. Others will have outer walls missing, meaning you’ll be able to let certain foods hang out the side of the box and still satisfy the win conditions. In the late game, the boxes themselves need to be built or chopped up and rearranged alongside the ingredients, and getting three stars for those levels is a challenge. It’s like adding a bit of origami into the mix. Each chapter messes with the established formula and brings lots of tiny a-ha moments that make the game a joy to play.
Alongside the head-scratching puzzles, you’ll get a vibrant colour palette and a relaxing soundtrack that could play in a Japanese Onsen. There are no time limits for levels. The undo and restart buttons are easy to select and quick to action. There is a lot of player feedback to highlight if you are trying something fundamentally wrong, as a red flashing outline will trigger. The puzzles are tricky, but never unfair, and getting it right is often different to getting a perfect score. I also like the way new chapters unlock after attaining a certain number of stars. That means if you are stuck on one level, you can jump to a different chapter to try out something else. My only teeny tiny critique is that whenever you select the options or level select screens, they feel like they are running on a very low framerate. It’s almost like stop motion at times, and it’s a little jarring from the fluidity of all the other graphics and gameplay.
Bento Blocks is a tasty treat for the eyes, mind, and stomach. There’s plenty to do, and the game blossoms well beyond its initial trick to provide an appetising brain teaser that will entertain and surprise you throughout. Grab it!
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