Yesterday I found out about the World of Goo sale on Steam, via CAG, just before it ended.

Today I’m rescuing a goo-lady of, shall we say, “Ample carriage?”

Regardless, I’m escorting her down a red carpet, oh and look now, she’s just killed all of her fans. The good thing about this shallow-yet-not-insubstantial debutante is that her fanbase is leading her to a series of gears that will grind her up into the raw materials of beauty.

At least, that is beauty as far as goo is concerned.

So what is World of Goo, and what am I talking about?

World of Goo is an excellent indie physics puzzle game from 2dboy. You can get it on Steam, or a boxed copy via this amazon link. It’s so overlooked that I wanted to give it a mention. Now is the time to go back and try it if you haven’t.

I was like you, having only played through the free demo on Steam, I ignored the atmosphere of the game and dismissed it as shallow cuteness. Just as shallow as the gooball lady?

Now, having played more in the full game, I can hopefully cure you of your apathy. Give World of Goo a chance. I’m only up to Chapter 3, but the game is definitely more substantial than you might think from having just played the demo. It is even available for Linux now! Apple fans can get it, too. One license from 2dboy’s site appears to let you play it on any of those three platforms, as well.

I dare you to try playing it without a smile on your face. Everything from the overworld to the tower-building metagame put one on mine. Each level left me feeling good about my intelligence for having completed it, the way a good puzzle game should. Beyond the demo you also find new kinds of goo that make the solutions to each puzzle feel different.

Even the music is brilliant, but don’t take my word for it, download the soundtrack for free, from the developer. Maybe not something you’ll listen to much before you’ve played the game, but it is demonstrative of the game’s quality.

That metagame I mentioned is also pretty cool, it keeps you moving through the levels, and gives you a reason to go back to them. You see, each time you finish a level you can have a few balls of goo left over. The metagame has you employing those gooballs as joists and struts in support of a giant tower that you’re building to compete with everyone on the internet. It is pretty nifty, you’ll see what I mean when you try the game.

Maybe you’ll even send some ample goo-people to the spinning gears of doom, too.