If you are a novice puzzle gamer, you might want to look elsewhere because Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets by BeautiFun Games is a brilliant yet brutal mind bender that will challenge your wits at every turn. Featuring pocket-sized levels, gorgeous monster designs, and thought-provoking brain teasers, Professor Lupo is must have title for puzzle game fans.
You star as Professor Lupo’s intern. Lupo has captured the most alluring aliens species in the the galaxy and plans to sell to them off to the highest bidder. The problem is that while demonstrating their power, the ship is hit with space torpedoes and all hell has broken loose. You must navigate the ship, room by room, and lure, distract, and sneak your way around to safety. A ‘go from point A to point B’ game seems simple enough, but the many different monster AI and environmental challenges keep things fresh and exciting. The game also gives you multiple options for traversing the death trap as you can use traditional controller options, touch screen, or even detach the Joy Con and use it as a pointer to point and click your way around. The touch screen method is the most precise, but all options here are pretty damn good.
Professor Lupo plays sort of like a mix between Slayaway Camp or Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle and Metal Gear Solid VR Missions. Each enemy has their own behavior and you must use it to your advantage. One creature seems to follow you and goes into full on attack mode when it has a path to do so. You need to open and close some doors to keep it moving along on its path, but not directly at you to chew you into a fine paste. Learning the behaviors of each monster is key to your success, but learning this comes at a cost. That cost is death. Lots and lots of death.
To put it plainly, Professor Lupo is punishing. You absolutely MUST plan ahead and execute on that plan. When you make a mistake, you die. It is that simple. Will you want to throw the Switch down, climb to the top rope, and drop an elbow drop across the Switch screen? Maybe, but do not let this deter you. Professor Lupo is not punishing just to be punishing, nor is it a situation where you will be blaming the game for your deaths. It has very specific solutions to very specific problems. It is your job to figure it out. Sure…it may take you a dozen tries, but once you realize a room’s solution, you will have one of those head slapping epiphanies and wonder what the hell you were thinking this whole time. The game boasts over 100 levels, which seems like a nice amount that should take just a few days to conquer, but depending on your skill level, you may spend a half dozen hours getting through the first two dozen stages.
While Professor Lupo shines in its brilliant level and creature designs, it lacks in a few small areas. Voice acting, while not bad by any stretch, seems low budget and forced. Punch lines are clearly there and obvious most of the time. The soundtrack, however, is really awesome. Its this sort of uneven presentation that leaves you scratching your head. The writing could have been a bit more clever, but the story is not really the star here so it can be forgiven. Monster sounds are pretty generic and leave something to be desired as well. The animation is simple, but effective, and the sound should be up to those same standards, but it isn’t. It just doesn’t feel like it gels well with the rest of the package.
Overall Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets is a fun, torturous puzzle game that is oozing charm, but lacks some overall polish to really bring the whole package home. If you love puzzle games, especially ones that make you think on your feet and plan out methodical solutions, you will adore this game. Professor Lupo has the potential to be a puzzle game mainstay and should not be ignored. At an easily digestible $14.99 there is no reason not to add this to your collection. Another strong Nindie!
Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets was provided by HomeRun PR for review on Nintendo Switch.
