Whenever I think of a factory production line I picture lots of workers, robots, and plenty of frantic action. What I don’t imagine is a slow-paced environment filled with one rabbit walking around while wearing a giant robotic suit. Yet, this is exactly what you experience when you play Bunny Factory.
Developed and published by DillyFrame, this is a 3D puzzle game with bunnies, lots and lots of bunnies. You must work solo or with friends to fill puzzles with coloured boxes. The premise lacks a sense of complexity, but the puzzles quickly become more and more difficult. You must use a bit of luck and an awful lot of logical thinking to overcome each problem you face.
Bunny Factory is the latest in a long line of Bunny games.
I have been fortunate to play and review most of DillyFrame’s games, and Bunny Factory is the latest iteration in a long list of titles. They normally focus on classic problem-solving ideas, such as; Mahjong, Sudoku, and more. This time they have broken their familiar pattern and focussed on a completely original concept.
The gameplay starts pretty easy. A pattern is shown on the floor and you must place the relevant coloured blocks to light up each portion. The blocks have arrows that highlight the path that they will fill, and you must jostle each one around until no tile is left unlit. It tests your spatial awareness and ability to plan. Its simplicity makes it so fantastic and each stage has that “just one more try” element to it.
The difficulty quickly ramps up.
As you complete each puzzle, you are awarded with a yellow cube that has a number on it. You must follow the arrows, place the cube down, and start the next problem. This doesn’t just work as a method to move the game forward. No, it encourages you to explore the factory, activate the equipment, and find the collectables that hide in plain sight.
The further you progress the more complex the puzzles become! Extra colours are added to the mix, and plain cubes must be painted to fill the pattern. It quickly becomes very difficult and you have to use more trial and error and forward-thinking to be successful. The higher the level, the longer each stage takes, so this forced me to only play a few levels at a time. The constant back and forth made playing this for long periods quite tiresome, so to ease this I played it in short bursts.
Bunny Factory is the best game in the series.
With one hundred challenging levels, a massive factory to explore, and a reliable server to play with friends, Bunny Factory is by far the best game in the series. The original idea has allowed DillyFrame to shine and they have learnt from their previous mistakes. Whenever I played their previous games, they were all full of bugs, issues, and graphically they were a bit of a mess. Fortunately, I didn’t experience any of these issues and other than the time it took to complete the later stages, I loved every minute of this.
I was, however, disappointed that they removed the NPC bunnies and mindless sports from the game. Previous iterations allowed you to play football, attack passing rabbits, and cause general mayhem. Bunny Factory has some cool extracurricular activities that relate to the factory, but they sadly lack the immature nature found in previous games.
Standard indie graphics.
Compared to previous titles, Bunny Factory looks great! It’s more polished, the world is larger and has a lot more detail. The blend of neutral colours and bright tones make the puzzles interesting to observe and the bunnies have smooth animations. It is much better than what they have previously produced, but it doesn’t stand out against others in the field. It is nice, but it just won’t wow you.
The audio follows suit. It delivers an expected lighthearted soundtrack with an industrial edge. It matches the theme nicely and delivers a pace that doesn’t add pressure to the gameplay. The sound effects are amusing, especially when multiple people are playing. Kicking each other never gets old, nor do the noises each rabbit makes.
A well thought out setup.
I appreciate it when developers create games that are simple to play, and this one is as straightforward as they come. You open with an image of the control layout, and with a little practice, it quickly becomes second nature. Everything is responsive, and moving the blocks was an easy task. Taking the role of a robot bunny factory worker has never been so easy.
With one hundred levels to complete, and a challenging learning curve, this will keep you playing. The multiplayer option was a great idea as it reduced the constant back and forth when sorting blocks. A small achievement list requires you to complete half the puzzles and to explore the whole factory looking for collectables. This can be achieved in around four hours, with the same again required to finish it.
Bunny Factory, the diamond in the series.
If you’ve not played the series, you’ll have to take my word for this, but this is by far the best one yet. A thoroughly polished endeavour that tests you mentally from start to finish. Yes, I was disappointed about the lack of NPCs and without them, it felt devoid of life. Yet, the overall package is very good, and this is an enjoyable puzzle experience. If you are a fan of the genre, buy your copy here! Solve each problem and get the factory back up and running.
