If you enjoyed the 3DS eShop game Pushmo or its sequels, Crashmo and Pushmo World, then you’re in luck: Nintendo has announced the next game in the series, Stretchmo, and in traditional, weird Nintendo fashion, it’s available to download right now.
As the name suggests, Stretchmo adds the ability to stretch blocks in the puzzle-solving gameplay for which the series is known. New attractions include “Papa Blox’s NES Expo,” which features stages based on 8-bit characters, and the dangerous “Corin’s Fortress of Fun,” which includes “new gizmos that act like enemies.”
Unlike the previous games in the series, which used a more traditional digital pricing model, the base content in Stretchmo will be available for free. However, this is limited to just seven puzzles. The rest of the game can be bought individually — the main “attraction,” “Mallow’s Playtime Plaza,” costs $5, while each of the other three cost $3. For a $4 discount, you can also buy a bundle containing all of the attractions for $10.
The purchase of any attraction also nets you the “Stretchmo Studio,” a feature similar to Mario Maker that allows you to share user-created levels with friends. Nintendo also says that “different features are unlocked as players complete more levels throughout the attractions,” although the game’s official press release does not go into specifics about what those features are.
Thus far, the Pushmo series has been quite well-received due to its innovative take on the puzzle genre, and the original game even topped our 2012 list of the best 3DS eShop games. In addition to its work on the Pushmo series, developer Intelligent Systems recently released the downright bizarre Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., and are currently working on both Fire Emblem If for 3DS and Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem for Wii U.
