Review: Billy Bumbum: A Cheeky Puzzler

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Written: 2026 November 11

Rating: 1/5


This is an average puzzle game at best. From the very start, I felt like some levels were very one-dimensional. The most immediate path forward is obviously wrong. The second most immediate path is also wrong. So, I just go and try the solution that's the most convoluted or "out of the way" from the start. Seeing through these kinds of levels makes me feel like I'm one step ahead of the level designer, which is bad.

The game pushes me towards exploring the level because analyzing the level without doing anything can often times be a futile task. This is because of the nature of the platforms in this game being mostly one-time use or two-time use platforms. So, this game pushed me towards tactically thinking a few moves ahead rather than the bigger picture strategy for the level. I became better at recognizing dead ends earlier and maneuvering around them.

One of the more interesting elements is the rotation of Billy as he moves. However, most levels smooth over this by naturally aligning him once the solution for the rest of the level is executed. This means I don't have to care about the rotation of Billy while playing, because the game has conditioned me to realize that "yea, it'll probably just work out in the end." I feel like there could have been so much more depth to the movement system, but it is hindered by the nature of the temporary platforms that make up each level.

As for other mechanics, they are introduced at about one new "block-type" every 2 worlds. They introduce new challenges, but to be honest, I've seen this so many times in puzzle games now that they aren't that engaging to me. Really clever design would have emergent properties that were hidden in plain sight or impossible to discover until a particular feature of the level design opens up. This, to me, is far more interesting than a "new object" that hasn't been used in prior levels. It gives me the "wow I could have done this the whole time?" feeling. This game does not have that. I much prefer extreme depth in existing mechanics over various lesser-explored, more shallow mechanics.

The last few levels left a particularly bad taste in my mouth. They are difficult, sure, but most are difficult simply because of the large possibility space rather than due to the interesting deductive reasoning process. There are also some "traps" or red-herrings that felt especially bad in the end-game because it's such an easy thing to add "fluff" to increase the difficulty of your levels.

Finally, a few other small nitpicks:


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