Puddle, originally released on XBLA and PSN a year ago, makes a middling first impression. The first area of the game – centered around moving liquid left and right past obstacles – is boring, with the only exemplary detail being the vivid, beautiful graphics. At that point the game is reminiscent of NightSky, a 3DS/PC game that presents a series of mediocre-to-good physics-based puzzle rooms that tell no discernable story and are in no particular order. Puddle eventually triumphs past the lackluster start, though, bringing in a novel progression and interesting mechanics – but it takes way too long to get to there.
At its base, the experience is very similar to Nintendo and Curve Studio’s Fluidity games, except the motion controls are optional. And terrible. You use the GamePad to tilt left and right, but it is extraordinarily imprecise and frustrating. Fortunately, the other two control methods – one using ZL and ZR and the other using an analog stick – are perfectly serviceable.