By Marty Mulrooney
World of Goo 2 is a physics-based puzzle video game developed by 2D Boy and Tomorrow Corporation. Just like its predecessor, World of Goo (2008) – which AMO’s review described as ‘an instant classic’ and ‘the most insanely brilliant, hardcore-casual game ever made’ – this long-awaited sequel presents a series of increasingly mind-boggling levels that involve building structures using goo balls to solve puzzles and reach the exit.
Finally arriving on Steam after a short period of exclusivity on the Epic Games Store, where it launched last year, starting up World of Goo 2 is a nostalgic delight. It’s everything you remember about the charming audio-visual presentation of the original game, but dialled up to 11. The field of view is expanded, which is a welcome change, as it allows the levels more room to breathe, and while the difficulty is a little bit higher, levels can be rewound, restarted and skipped without penalty.
The satirical story is pretty interesting too, once again taking aim at the companies and corporations that continue to destroy the planet while shouting their supposed green credentials from the rooftops. Sure, it’s on the nose, but that’s part of the reason it works so well. There aren’t any main characters; rather, the story views humanity from a distance, taking place over hundreds of thousands of years. And it’s all delivered with tongue firmly in cheek, leaning more towards silly than preachy.
The levels are spread across five chapters, and it’s impressive how the developers have avoided repeating themselves from one level to the next. One moment you’ll be connecting clear goo balls together so they can slurp up a puddle of black goo and feed a goo cannon, the next you’ll be using cheesy yellow goo balls to make solid platforms for other goo balls to bounce off. Combined with returning classics such as the balloon, stretchy and explosive goo balls, players are given plenty of tools to reach each level’s exit pipe.
Controlled entirely with the left mouse button on PC, gameplay is intuitive and a lot of fun – even when things go spectacularly wrong – but there are some issues. The backgrounds are often light in colour, which can make the white guidance lines that appear when placing a goo ball practically invisible. Furthermore, rewinding mistakes is harder than it should be, as clicking the little flies that enable this feature can be challenging, especially when trying to roll back several moves. And finally, while the FOV (field of view) is improved, not being able to properly zoom out is a bizarre design choice.
Balancing out the negatives – and keeping things feeling fresh during the game’s final hours – is the zany fourth chapter, which throws the rulebook out of the window. Set in the far future and looking back at various hypothetical World of Goo sequels (including a surprisingly robust point-and-click adventure), these later levels are a joy, perfectly showcasing and encapsulating the creativity of 2D Boy and Tomorrow Corporation.
There are far more hits than misses during the nine or so hours it will take to reach the end credits, and while I doubt it will have the same impact as its predecessor, this is still an indie game that stands out from the crowd. More of the same is far from a bad thing in this instance, but I do wish a few more risks had been taken. This is a sequel that plays it fairly safe, but every now and then it throws a curveball that you won’t see coming – and this is when it’s at its best.
World of Goo 2 is a worthy sequel to one of the best indie puzzlers of all time. It successfully recaptures what made the original World of Goo feel so vibrant and essential in 2008, even if it doesn’t always stick the landing in 2025. It’s a game focused on showing players a good time, and for the most part, it succeeds.
Each goo ball is packed with personality – even the cracks ooze with potential – and guiding them to their salvation is as addictive as ever. Whether you’re an old hand at goo wrangling or this is your first goo rodeo, World of Goo 2 is a colourful puzzle game with a wicked sense of humour that deserves to reach as wide an audience as possible. Goo-d times!
9 OUT OF 10
Martin Mulrooney
Guest/Previous
Alternative Magazine Online 
The fact that the story has corporations who destroy the planet and greenwash isn’t a critique of IRL corporations destroying the planet and greenwashing, it’s a parody of how after WoG1’s success, the publishing corporations who had previously refused to publish the game pretended to apologize to the devs
Thanks for commenting. I’m pretty sure it’s a critique of consumerism in general, although I purposely avoided revealing too many spoilers in my review. If you have a link to an interview with the devs where they talk about the meaning behind the story, I’d love to read it.