Puffinick Game Review

Puffinick Game Background

Puffinick is a puzzle platformer game featuring a wingless bird.

The game was developed by Alessandro Pezzetti’s Havana24.

How to Play Puffinick

Press the gray and black PLAY button on the loading screen to bring up the welcome screen.

Select a yellow level from the menu at the bottom of the welcome screen to start the game. When you first play the first stage the game shows a comic intro highlighting how Puffinick was born without wings, was teased and isolated for that, and plans to use its breath to climb Mount Pyke.

Move left by pressing the A key or the left arrow key.

Move right by pressing the D key or the right arrow key.

Press the right click button and hold it to breath in. Press the left click button and hold it to exhale. Your mouse cursor position determines where you are sucking in air from or blowing air out to. In some cases you can suck air hard enough to pull a nearby switch, whereas in other cases you may need to throw an object at a switch to open a gate.

You can jump by pressing the W key or the up arrow key, though your jump does not give much elevation and you need to breathe downward to soar high.

If you make a mistake and want to reset the current level press the R key on your keyboard or press the reset button in the upper right corner.

Basic Gameplay Advice

You start each stage with a limited lung capacity, as shown by the meter at the bottom center of the screen. Each stage has an apple on it which you can collect.

Sucking in worms or apples grants you a larger breath.

You can also suck in concrete cubes to use them to throw at switches to activate them, move concrete to create steps, or impact buoyancy while you have the concrete inside the bird.

Avoid running into spikes, or falling off platform. Make it safely to the green platform to advance to the next stage. This game has 10 stages which are unlocked sequentially.

Advanced Playing Tips & Strategy

Throwing the concrete blocks can be tricky. It usually helps to aim a bit high with your throws, particularly if you are hitting a switch that is a good distance away from you.

If you are having trouble grabbing an apple on a stage you can keep playing through to the end of the game and then come back to get any apples you missed.

When breathing in or out in a sequence (particularly if you are standing on objects or blowing out concrete blocks) it is helpful to remember to breath in from up and away from any objects, then move the mouse cursor to where you want it before breathing out. If you are trying to jump high to reach an apple you may need to jump, then breath out downward from the edge of the jump, then move the mouse cursor up to suck in the apple right near the apex of the jump.

If you are really struggling on a level the upper left corner of the stage has a yellow button for skipping to the next level.

Educational Aspects

This is a simple platformer with a bit of a flying element to it which can help children improve hand eye coordination.

Player Age Recommendations

This game is likely a bit challenging for students below middle school level, though the cuteness of the game design and the ability to skip levels should make it fun for all ages. Players who like this game should also enjoy Heliumphant.