I got World of Goo, which came out last month, and it’s totally under my skin. Did you ever play Lemmings back in the day? It’s kind of like that, where you have little objects that need to be directed or controlled, but there is an unpredictable physics component to it as well. Initially, WoG has the feel of one of those little casual flash games that you get obsessed with for a week and then forget it existed, but it’s more than that. The look is much more polished (the art is cute but not cutesy), the original music is very pretty and sets the mood well, and it has good replay value. There is an underlying story, as well, that unfolds like a mystery which urges the player onward.

The objects that you work with and control are “goo balls,” round living creatures with cute blinking eyes. Each type of goo ball has a different property or “talent.” (remember the digger Lemmings that would go and go until you were totally screwed?). The Player is introduced to different types of balls in the four chapters of the game, which is broken into the Summer, Autumn, Winter, and The Information Superhighway. The Epilogue, unlocked after you make your way through the four chapters, is “Spring.” The balls can stretch out and form arms that can be used to build towers and span gaps. If you build them too high or unsteadily, they can topple over or pop on spikes or you can listen to their sad cries as they fall into pits. The goal is to get a predetermined number of balls of goo into a goal pipe at the end of the level, which sucks them in.

There are two things that make this game compelling to me. The first is the writing and the plot. There is an unseen sign painter whose hints appear on signs in almost every level, as well as narration throughout the game. The plot hinges around the World of Goo corporation that harvests gooballs and turns them into food or beauty product–sort of a mass-consumer Soylent Green flair. There is a very tongue-in-cheek attitude towards corporate life and Big Brother, and advertisements for the World of Goo corporation abound through the game. I am convinced that the writer has spent some time at Microsoft. However, I think kids can probably ignore this subtext if they’re not hip to it and just enjoy the puzzle/building aspect to the game.

The second thing I find compelling is the variety of the puzzles. On some levels, the player can plan perfectly and easily set up the level for success, much like toppling dominoes. On others, it is just a matter of luck and quick building and thinking that will allow the player to barely squeak by. I had to give a few levels several tries before I figured out what I was supposed to do or the right way to solve it. This is not to say that the learning curve is too steep or the player is set adrift, like in Myst. There are “learning” levels where the player can get a feel for a new task or material before having to go into panic mode.

There is another component to the game that I have explored less, which is play in the World of Goo corporation screen, where players can build towers with the goo balls they’ve collected throughout the course of play. Players can connect online and see other player’s towers, and compete to build the highest one. This isn’t my bag, but others may like it.

World of Goo is addictive, well-written, crazy entertaining, and at $20 for PC is a great price point for holiday gifts this year. And HEY, it’s DRM-free. Be sure to check out the downloadable demo on the the 2D Boy site and check the screenshots.

(Also available for Wii and Mac.)