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What
you get when you order Squish
* 9 new worlds, each with 10 levels (some of which
even I find challenging)
* Stylized graphics, decorations, sounds and
rendered background scenes for each world
* Special traps unique to each world (except for
Rock and Ice worlds)
* Surprise twist at the end of each world
* A level editor for creating your own worlds
How to play
The object of the game is to guide Squish through
each level to the open exit. The exit starts off
sealed, so you must first lead Squish to the
plunger which triggers the opening mechanism. You
have at your disposal an assortment of props with
which you can add to and change the level so that
Squish follows the right path. Each prop affects
Squish differently, and you have a limited number
of each to use, so place them wisely. As Squish is
just a rubber ball with a pair of goggly eyes stuck
on it, there is no concept of death. You may try a
level as often as you wish; however, there are
hazards which will force you to restart the level
if not avoided.
Squish is a game best played by experimentation.
There is an online help screen that explains what
the props do but it's a lot more fun just to try
them all out. My advice is to stop reading this now
and play the game!
Hint: If you find the game goes to fast or too
slowly, try holding CONTROL or OPTION while
playing.
EASY mode
When you start a new game you are given a choice of
difficulty level. This choice will be your default
for the rest of the game. You may change the mode
after this point (by clicking on the yellow flag
next to the level picture on the Horizon menu) but
the change will be temporary and will be reset to
the default after each level. EASY mode should not
be attempted by experienced gamers and
puzzle-solvers as it takes most of the skill out of
the game. It gives you 99 of every prop on each
level you play on EASY, making level completion
trivial. If you have a NORMAL default setting but
you complete a few levels on EASY, you are required
to go back and complete these levels on NORMAL by
clicking on the level number with the Yellow Flag
of Cowardice in it on the Horizon menu.
The Editor
To make a world of your own go to the Editor menu
and choose New World. Squish won't let you edit the
original worlds at this point. You will then be
taken to the Editor screen with a brand new
level.
* Place props, traps and decorations as you would
normally, you have an infinite supply of them.
* Set the starting conditions for each prop with
the plus and minus buttons at the left.
* The Spikes, Decorations, Traps, and Special
blocks are condensed into one button each, and the
variations can be accessed by using the plus and
minus buttons or the up and down arrow keys.
Special blocks include the Plunger, the Exit, and
Squish's starting location.
* Clicking on the bottom-rightmost button will take
you to the Thumbnail menu. From this menu you can
edit a new or existing level by clicking on its
picture, or change the blockset the world uses by
clicking on the planets at the bottom of the
screen.
* You can have a maximum of 48 levels in one
world.
* The editor isn't much fancier than this, there
are no copy and paste functions and you can't
rearrange or delete levels but it works. If you
want something spiffier, ask me for it and I'll
include it in the next version.
A few screenshots to wet your
tastebuds...
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Squish
