Soul Bubbles Impressions

The games industry could always do with more original concepts, so we were naturally intrigued when we saw this new action puzzle game from French developer Mekensleep. Published by Eidos and slated for release in June 2008, this DS-exclusive game is a stylish take on the puzzle genre that is quite unlike anything we've seen before.

The concept is fairly simple: You must help escort animal souls, using bubbles, to the afterlife. A simple touch-screen interface allows you to draw bubbles and move them quickly through each level, although there are plenty of secrets to be found for those willing to do a little exploration. We had the chance to see the game in action with Eidos recently, and although we didn't get to play the game, we were impressed with what we saw.

Soul Bubbles boasts a charming visual style that's reminiscent of European animations.

The backstory isn't too important, but it is humorously bizarre. You play a shaman apprentice who's tasked with getting animal souls to the afterlife, and you do this by encapsulating them in a bubble. The game is played solely with the stylus, so you physically draw bubbles on the screen and then use the stylus to make your onscreen character blow them in different directions, while floating through each level. This is all done thanks to...a magical elephant mask of course! This allows you to both move the bubbles and inflate or deflate them as needed.

The game isn't just about moving souls around, though; you have to protect them as well. You have to avoid enemies such as crows and sharp obstacles as you progress, but you can tap the screen to attack your enemies. Tougher baddies, such as the skeleton crows that we saw in our demo, must be dispatched by drawing lines through them with the stylus. There are also puzzles where you need to make your bubbles larger than normal so they push on a switch as they move past, and you do this by drawing smaller bubbles on the outskirts of your existing bubble, which then amalgamate into it. On the other hand, you can also draw air out of bubbles by tapping on them, helping them become small enough to fit through tighter gaps.

Soul Bubbles has a really attractive visual style, taking in obvious influences from European animated films as well as games such as LocoRoco. As with the aforementioned Sony title, there are many secret areas to explore, and your souls glow when you're near something that might be of interest. Obstacles such as wind stop you from progressing easily into these areas, meaning that you have to use the stylus to blow hard against the draft to progress. The game also uses the DS microphone, having you physically blow into it at certain points, such as when you first set up your character at the beginning of the game.

We got to see only a couple of levels of Soul Bubbles during our time with Eidos, but we're told that there will be ice and snow environments as well as weighted bubbles to play with. The finished game will feature 40 levels across eight differently themed worlds, and with a release date of June 10 in the US and June 13 in Europe, we won't have to wait long to see if it can deliver on its potential.