By Nathan Grayson on May 17th, 2012 at 1:00 pm.
I like cute things. Scratch that. I begrudgingly like cute things. They mesmerize me with their widdle squeaks and giant eyes, and my ability to pay attention to anything else melts right alongside my dumb, easily swayed heart. I could’ve written a novel or been a doctor. I really could’ve. Instead, I spent the past who-knows-how-long playing Balloon, because I found myself gripped by a nigh-primal urge to hear my tiny blob creature avatar blurt out a doughy “Yay!” after I solved puzzles.
Balloon is, however, admittedly a neat little game. It’s more or less a point-and-click adventure, but with nary a hint of dialog or instruction. You just sort of have to fiddle with the world and make things happen. I’ve come across a few fairly devilish puzzles, though, and many solutions inspire equal numbers of “ooooohs” and “ooooooos.” Currently, I’m stuck, which is why I’m able to write this post at all. Will I ever hear that sweet, delicious delivery of “Yay!” ever again? Because even if I give up and become a doctor, I’ll never be able to mend a broken heart.
17/05/2012 at 13:27 CheesyJelly says:
Just completed it. Was fairly adorable. A nice distraction, but frustrating at points!
17/05/2012 at 13:57 Salix says:
Made it to the bit with the cliff and the three grass stalk things on the left side and got stuck. I have a feeling the solution is obvious but I just can’t see it :(
17/05/2012 at 14:10 mondomau says:
I’m stuck here also. I can drag the cliff down, but it springs back up again. Is it glitchy or am I just dumb? I am fully prepared to accept either answer.
17/05/2012 at 14:14 Salix says:
Finally worked it out! Keep dragging it down and eventually it’ll get stuck, after that is fairly easy.
17/05/2012 at 15:10 mondomau says:
Still not working for me, flickers all over the place. Got it to stick once but there was still a gap. Oh well, it looks pretty.
17/05/2012 at 15:50 Zanpa says:
Yup, that’s the second part of the puzzle on this stage.
17/05/2012 at 18:11 Baines says:
If there was any indication or hint of what to do, it would be better.
As is, I just end up blindly clicking everything on screens like the cliff puzzle until I get a response. And then I end up blindly clicking everything again, because my first few tries at the “obvious” solution to the second part of the puzzle apparently didn’t hit the right hotspot or something. (The “obvious” solution is right, the problem is finding the right places to click for the game to register them.)
17/05/2012 at 14:02 InternetBatman says:
I’m stuck at the elevator. I like it the game, but wish there was a bit more direction.
17/05/2012 at 14:17 edwardoka says:
Think mirror image.
18/05/2012 at 01:16 Dominitus says:
Even with the mirror image clue, I still can’t work it out. :-/
17/05/2012 at 14:12 Qazi says:
Weee NEWS x
17/05/2012 at 14:33 Sihoiba says:
That’s exactly where I’m stuck…
I’m assuming it’s compass points, but I can’t work out what I’m doing wrong
17/05/2012 at 14:40 Zanpa says:
Somehow West is on top.
17/05/2012 at 14:52 Sihoiba says:
Thanks! Got it
17/05/2012 at 14:42 CheesyJelly says:
North isn’t up. There’s a sort-of arrow in the buttons pointing North. And imagine the whole thing in capitals.
17/05/2012 at 14:47 jrodman says:
Unfortunately the arrow also points up.
But it was still cute!