Genre: Adventure    

Developer & Publisher: Triomatica Games              

Released: June 26, 2025               

Requirements: OS: Windows 10 and newer

Processor: Intel Core i3

Memory: 2 MB RAM

Graphics: Integrated

Storage: 2 GB available space

By flotsam

Boxville 2

Triomatica Games

You are a can, not (somewhat surprisingly) a box, and a red one at that. Soft drink in style, with a ring-pull to boot, and feet to take you wherever.

Which seems to be to find Green Can, who failed to let go of the very large firecracker when it ignited and took off, seemingly landing at that island over there. The little fires everywhere need to be dealt with first, and then Red’s pursuit/rescue begins.

I didn’t play the first game, and apart from spotting a few friends from that earlier game (I know because I got an achievement) it seemingly matters not. Everything Red Can needs is right here, and there is nothing ‘he’ needs to know that can’t be worked out right now. So best get at it.

What eventuates is a peaceful and rather charming bit of puzzle solving , some with the aid of items, others just by using your deductive wits. There are quite a few of them spread throughout the five or so hours I imagine it will take most players, and I very much enjoyed nearly all of them. Some were a little random for my liking (Battleship, the game of rock, leaf, claw) but that said, I didn’t dislike any of them, which says a lot.

I also enjoyed the variety, as well as the differing degrees of challenge. Some are straightforward, others way less so, and there are a few you will have to do more than once with an increasing degree of difficulty. My favourite was probably the maths equations to access the Tin Cow, which I found challenging notwithstanding its inherent simplicity. Sorting the bees was good too. Many felt unique, and even those that are tried and true (e.g., Tower of Hanoi, slider) have been tweaked a little to freshen them up.

A number required you to work out what the puzzle wanted from you, and talking to the many other cans you will encounter can help in that regard. Communication is via little pictograms, there being no spoken (or read) word anywhere in the game, but it was in no way a detriment. Its amazing how insightful a set of images can be if you can just work out what it is trying to tell you.

Finding and using inventory items plays a part, as does combining them within the inventory window which sits opaquely right of screen. Necessary items might also be obtained from another character, perhaps the result of remedying his or her dilemma or as a reward for solving their puzzle. There are also a few sequences where distracting a character by some means is essential to obtaining an item.

Whilst the story doesn’t get any deeper than finding Green, I was suitably chuffed when I eventually did so. It does end somewhat abruptly, but I had eked plenty of good times out of Red’s journey to that point. Red is nothing if not resourceful, certainly determined, and neither mermaids or pirates or all manner of obstacles are going to thwart him.

Visually, Boxville 2 is a soft, water-coloury sort of place, hand drawn and rather delightful. There is a detailed simplicity to the locations, and they are as varied as Red’s travels. Ambient sounds and a musical score (which you can turn up or down) accompany your endeavours.

Played in the third person, it’s point and click all the way. Screens don’t slide, and exits will be indicated by the cursor changing to an arrow. Despite the facts that red things go faster, Red has only one speed; double clicking won’t make him run or ‘jump’ you to an exit point. His little ambling perambulation though is speed enough.

The default cursor is a little wire hand, which will pulsate when poised over something that can be taken or interacted with. What it won’t seem to do is indicate “something can be done here,” and there was an occasion or two where I was clueless as a result. Or perhaps I missed something. Either way, it was a minor issue.

You also can’t highlight hotspots so explore carefully. Having said that though, the game isn’t hard, and you will usually have a reasonable idea about what to do.

The biggest location is where you start, and I liked that you could pretty much explore the whole environment from the get go. Whilst e.g., you might be denied entry into a room because you don’t have the necessary item, you can uncover puzzles and potentially solve them in various orders. Some might require items from other solutions, but there was a feeling of openness that persisted throughout.

The game regularly saves automatically, indicated by the little icon bottom left, as well as upon exiting. It picks up at your last save, which is the only save available (you can’t go back and load earlier saves). You can save manually by exiting. There are also Steam achievements if you are into that sort of thing (I got 15 of 21).

It was a fun time.

I played on:

OS: Windows 11, 64 Bit

Processor: Intel i7-9700K 3.7GHz

RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR4 32GB

Video card: AMD Radeon RX 580 8192MB

 

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