Professor Lupo: Ocean

Although not quite as meaty as its older sibling, Professor Lupo: Ocean boasts the same engaging puzzle gameplay, albeit with often unwieldy controls. It’s a short game, and not one you’re likely to come back to soon after completion, but with a relatively small price tag, it’s one you’d do well to pick up if you’re after an original puzzle title.

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I picked up Professor Lupo: Ocean. However, a quick – spoiler-free – browse showed me a cute little puzzle game.

As a whole Professor Lupo: Ocean is easy to pick up and can be enjoyed without prior experience with the first game. The game is well designed and the concept is engaging, however the slow movement and heavy controls let it down. I can see myself picking it up and completing a few levels at a time, but I’ll admit there wasn’t enough to keep me invested in the story to play for hours. It’s a short game, so it is definitely one worth playing to pass the time. I’d definitely recommend it for that.

Overall, while not quite at the level of its predecessor in terms of either length or script, Professor Lupo: Ocean still delivers a great puzzle solving adventure with water physics that won't make you cry, challenging yet reasonable puzzles, and a slew of bonus objectives to keep you entertained. There are plenty of puzzles, new monsters to avoid, and it was a great time to be had.

Professor Lupo: Ocean is a fun puzzle game overall. There is a nice logic that goes into the puzzles and the levels are fairly well designed. For new newcomers and those returning to the series you’ll find engaging puzzle gameplay if you can forgive the frustrating controls.

Professor Lupo: Ocean will be a treat for fans of the original. It continues the story, sets up a compelling mystery, and it looks and sounds fantastic. The puzzles are of one kind, however, and the game is short. Luckily the price tag is small, and it really is a continuation of the ideas/ story of Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets. Puzzle fans should enjoy the length and variety in that game, and come back for more of a very specific-kind of puzzle in this sequel.

Professor Lupo: Ocean attempts to be a small expansion on the first game with its central gimmick, but fails to really improve over the original and doubles down on its faults.