Growing up, there was always that child who got great pleasure from antagonising others. They would bully, tease, and hurt you for no reason. As we age, we usually mature and realise that this behaviour is neither appropriate nor acceptable. Don’t Touch This Button is the gaming version of this child! It’s a cruel beast that takes great pleasure from taunting you from start to end.
Developed by 9 Eyes Game Studio and published by Ratalaika Games, this is an adventure puzzle title. Set in a green space-age labyrinth, you must move through each stage by solving the logic-based problems. Each level contains a clue to help solve the puzzle, but here’s the kicker…..the clue is always wrong and you must do the opposite to what is instructed.
Don’t Touch This Button is a cruel game!
I loved Don’t Touch This Button’s mean ways, but they made me wince regularly. I’m not a man who likes to ignore instructions, so I found the concept uncomfortable throughout. I did, however, enjoy analysing the cryptic clues, and when you solve a particularly tricky stage, it’s extremely rewarding. The game revolves around unlocking doors by pushing buttons. Sounds simple, right? Mostly it is, but the difficulty does increase and much of the success relies on a logical train of thought. You are required to smash vases, push boxes, find hidden paths, twist dials, and more as you seek out each green button.
With sixty-six levels to traverse, you may worry that this became tedious and boring. Fortunately, new mechanics are added in regularly and the puzzles are challenging. You must think outside of the box during the latter levels, and failure is all but assured as you scramble for the answers. The developers tried to spice things up near the end by adding in ‘Minions’. These floating creatures don’t do anything, but you must find them and destroy them to complete the game.
A silly concept that culminates in a strange boss fight.
Though many of the levels will test your mind, they are built on a humorous and silly concept that may not appeal to all gamers. I liked Don’t Touch This Button because of its childish humour, but its counterintuitive methods may annoy purists of the genre. What I found frustrating, however, was when the clues were too vague and cryptic. On one level, you must discover an area where the gravity is different from the rest of the room. There is no indication of why you should move the cubes, and I had to check a walkthrough to solve this stage. This angered me as there was no clear solution and trial and error shouldn’t be a key concept of any puzzle title.
Alongside this annoyance, I found the finale to Don’t Touch This Button to be rather strange. The sixty-six levels culminate in a bizarre boss fight involving buttons, fans, and falling platforms. The game gives no indication that this giant creature exists, and I was confused when it entered the fray. It was an unnecessary element that needn’t have been added. Though I enjoyed the closure, I didn’t know why it was angry with me, what it was, or why it existed.
Don’t Touch This Button has a dated aesthetic.
Graphics aren’t an important part of a puzzle game, I just hope that they are pleasant on the eyes. Luckily, Don’t Touch This Button uses a simple but dated aesthetic that is easy to look at. The contrasting dark greys and vivid greens make identifying essential elements an easy task. The clean-cut lines and basic stage design ensures that wandering around each level is straightforward and trouble-free.
The audio follows suit with its uncomplicated approach. The synthesised and futuristic soundtrack matches the strange environment you are exploring, and the pace ensures that you don’t feel rushed, nor does it bore you. The sound effects like much of the presentation won’t wow you, but they are suitable and allow you to enjoy the action.
Easy and responsive controls.
With many items to move around, and some tight spaces to work in, the controls needed to be accurate and responsive. Luckily, the developers got this right and the simple button layout makes playing this pleasurable. With limited commands to remember, you’ll understand the fundamentals in minutes, and this allows you to focus on each puzzle you’ll face.
Sixty-six levels is a good amount of content for an indie title, yet it won’t take you long to fly through each stage. Yes, the difficulty does increase, but for logical gamers, this won’t be a challenge. All achievements will be unlocked through the first playthrough so sadly this does affect its replay value.
Don’t Touch This Button is a nice indie puzzler that won’t break the bank.
With many puzzle titles on the market, Don’t Touch This Button will struggle to stand out. Fortunately, it’s low cost, so won’t break the bank and so this will appeal to casual gamers and completionists, alike. I enjoyed it and recommend that you buy it here! Ignore the hints, solve each puzzle, and take down the odd final boss.
