I have a peculiar relationship with sliding ice puzzles. Sometimes, I can see how everything’s meant to slot together perfectly and I absolutely adore them. Other times, I get in a muddle and curse them as the worst things ever created in the history of video games.
Sliding HeroDeveloper: Silent ChickenPublisher: Silent ChickenRelease: 2025Download the demo on: Steam
You know the sort I’m talking about. Where you launch forward onto a floor of (usually) ice (though not always) and your character won’t stop moving until you hit some kind of obstacle directly in front of you. Often, these puzzles task you with pushing blocks around them, too, either to hit switches or create new pathways when they fall into holes and such. Zelda has loads of ’em. Older Pokémon had them. Even Mario’s indulged in them from time to time.
But the Steam Next Fest demo for Sliding Hero asks: It’s an idea I’ve never really considered before, as sliding puzzles are usually just tiny parts of a larger whole. But you know what?
Sliding Hero – Announcement Trailer Watch on YouTube
Honestly, they must have buffed the floors and gardens of the 1700s Venetian villa you’re stuck in like nobody’s business for hero Luca to glide across them so effortlessly, but the results make for a surprisingly serene traversal experience. Even though you spend a lot of time mashing your face into pillars, bushes, benches and (strangely modern-looking) lampposts, I found myself quietly compelled to keep pushing forward into this faintly cursed setting – honestly, some of the plants could just have easily come from the dark world gardens in A Link to the Past, and that’s before we get to the giant eyeballs glaring at you from most of the trees, and the giant Virgin Mary-esque statues occasionally coming to life and delivering cryptic messages to me out of a well.