Gamertell

Title: Soul Bubbles
Price: $29.99
System: DS
Release Date: June 27, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Eidos (Mekensleep)
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Pros: Unique, addictive gameplay. Great use of DS touch screen. Wonderful graphics and audio.
Cons: Short. A bit too easy. No multiple saves.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 91/100; A-; 4 out 5

Soul Bubbles was developed exclusively for the DS by the French company Mekensleep. It’s their first and only game but it has the polish of a company that’s been developing games for decades. In fact, I can fault Soul Bubbles with only one major problem, which I’ll get to in a bit. For now, let’s focus on the game’s sense of whimsy and wonder and what a joy it is to play.

“It’s All Gonna be Hunky Dory”

In Soul Bubbles, you’re an apprentice Spirit Herder, charged with shepherding lost spirits across dangerous environments. They are kept safe inside bubbles which you “blow” through various environments with your stylus. Each level begins with seven spirits, and as long as they’re in a bubble, they’re safe. Of course, there are many treacherous obstacles along the way, thorns, birds, fire, blowfish and more hazards will pop your bubbles, and some creatures will suck the spirits right out of your bubble. When spirits are exposed to the elements, you have to quickly draw another bubble around them, or they’re forever lost.

You’re given weapons to help you on your way. Different masks, for example, allow you manipulate bubbles in various ways and tapping certain monsters with the stylus will briefly incapacitate them or do away with them all together. Later levels allow you to toss seeds at monsters and explosive bubbles.

Levels are revealed to you only as you explore (the map appears on the top screen while the action takes place on the bottom), so you’ll find yourself heading into many areas that can’t be crossed until you manipulate the environment in another area. Star Dust will guide your way to the safety of the Gateway Cube, but you’ll often need to deviate from their path in order to progress or to find the hidden Star Dust or Calabash.

Pop Goes the Game

When near Calabash (of which there are three on each level), the spirits in your bubble will turn from blue ghost-like creatures to pink hearts. A lot of Soul Bubble’s puzzle aspects center around reaching the Calabash but they’re really not that hard to find, making Soul Bubbles an especially quick play. You could work your way through it in less than 10 hours, although 100% completion of each level will take longer.

Still, the brief time spent in Soul Bubbles is worth the price. The environments are beautifully rendered, creating a world we’ve never before seen on the DS. The music and ambient sounds are soothing, complementing the gentle motions of blowing bubbles around the various settings. The game mostly maintains a leisurely pace throughout, even with its myriad challenges.

All of this combines to create a fun game that begs to be shown off to others, which is why I’m annoyed that you can’t save multiple games. Because Soul Bubbles automatically saves at the end of each level, only one player can work his way through at a time. Friends will either have to take over your current level, which may rely too heavily on tricks and actions mastered earlier, or play one you’ve already finished. Not a good solution either way. Perhaps it’s beneficial, then, that the game is so short, since you have to complete it before anyone else can play it.

Bubbles: The Joy and the Laughter

That aside, Soul Bubbles is pure joy; a delightful game that couldn’t exist anywhere outside of the DS platform, as it makes perfect use of the touchscreen. Games such as Soul Bubbles are the reason you bought a DS in the first place.

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