The world of puzzle games is filled with new takes and twists on the classic Sokoban formula. Sometimes they can feel stale, but now and then they come across very elegant and clean: Box or Void in an upcoming game with a new demo out now where the empty space in your levels will become walls and boxes, and vice versa.
As the trailer shows off, the game has a minimal but polished Patrick's Parabox-style aesthetic going on, and neither the name nor the visuals are trying to hide the fact that this is primarily a game about pushing blocks around. There appear to be a few different types of levels involved, some more classic block pushing and built around reaching targets, while others are doing something more snake-like.
The flipping back and forth between colors, empty tiles swapping with solid blocks (with your little character hiding and reappearing amongst them) is the central mechanic, making for different puzzle consequences depending on what type of logic the stages are using. It's both a little difficult and intriguing to try and track everything that's happening in the full speed trailer footage, lots of little interactions occurring quickly.
I've played a very similar mechanic at least once before in the little webgame The Night Falls for the Day by Sky Chan, a game that was featured in our Thinky Games Club newsletter in the past. That one's worth checking out for a cute & quick preview of how this type of puzzle functions, but Box or Void also has some new ideas that I definitely haven't seen before.
There's no release date yet, but you can play the demo for Box or Void or wishlist the game on Steam now.
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