Patrick's Parabox

Patrick’s Parabox is a fun puzzler for all ages, whether you like puzzles or not. It’s easy to play, and I found myself becoming easily addicted to solving each puzzle, losing hours of time into this fun little game.

93%Game Brain Score

gameplay, music

story, grinding

100% User Score Based on 2,005 reviews

Critic Score 80%Based on 4 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $19.99

Buy NowGet on Steam$19.99 Buy NowGet on itch.io Store$20 Buy NowGet on PS Store$19.99

About

Patrick's Parabox is an award-winning puzzle game featuring over 350 hand-crafted puzzles that explore a unique recursive system of boxes within boxes. Players manipulate boxes and navigate challenging mechanics, learning to use infinity to their advantage. Soothed by a calming soundtrack, players delve deeper into the system, discovering new ideas and mechanics as they go. The game has received critical acclaim, including the Excellence in Design award in the Independent Games Festival 2020.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

100%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,009 reviews

gameplay154 positive mentions

story12 negative mentions

Extremely fun and intricate puzzle game about recursion with a smooth difficulty curve.
The game showcases a lot of creativity with its mechanics, providing satisfying 'aha!' moments.
Well-designed puzzles that gradually introduce new concepts, making it accessible for both casual and hardcore puzzle fans.

Some players may find the game too easy, especially in the early levels, leading to a lack of challenge.
A few puzzles can feel repetitive or similar, which may detract from the overall experience.
The game lacks a built-in level editor, making it difficult for players to create and share custom levels easily.

gameplay
580 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
72%
1%
The gameplay of "Patrick's Parabox" is characterized by its innovative and mind-bending mechanics, particularly the recursive element of boxes within boxes. Players appreciate the game's intuitive design, which gradually introduces new mechanics through well-crafted puzzles, allowing for a smooth learning curve and a satisfying sense of progression. The puzzles are engaging and diverse, often leading to "aha!" moments, while maintaining a balance that prevents overwhelming complexity, making it accessible yet challenging for players.
- “The mechanics are intuitive, the puzzles are perfectly crafted for those 'aha!' moments that make you feel like a genius, and it only gets better the more you play.”
- “The game eases players into new mechanics, but every once in a while a level might introduce a tricky gimmick that stumps you.”
- “The game is a masterclass on how to introduce mechanics to players and create levels that help them discover how they interact with previously established mechanics.”
- “Learning each new game mechanic is easy enough, but they never actually work the way each tutorial makes it seem - causing later puzzles to be frustrating trial-and-error as you attempt to discover whatever specific interaction you're meant to find through brute force.”
- “I think it might actually be a bit disappointing with how the last couple of mechanics kind of stopped evolving on neat concepts and became focused on creating scenarios.”
- “It introduces a new mechanic and then you have to do 8 tutorial levels for the new mechanic and then there are maybe 1 or 2 interesting levels in a section before the game introduces a new mechanic.”
music
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
47%
4%
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and meditative qualities, enhancing the overall experience without being intrusive. Composed by Priscilla Snow, the soundtrack complements the game's aesthetics and mechanics, creating a soothing atmosphere that encourages players to engage with the puzzles at their own pace. While most reviews highlight the music's pleasantness and suitability, a few critiques mention that some tracks may feel repetitive or less engaging.
- “The calming music is wonderful, and the art style is both simple and kind of cute.”
- “Delightful visuals and soundtrack: the charming visuals and Priscilla Snow's meditative electronic soundtrack create a cheerful and captivating atmosphere, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- “The music sets a nice ambiance that's not distracting while the sound effects give a nice return on actions you make.”
- “About the only bad things I can say about it are a) that I didn't like some of the music tracks, and b) that there are a few levels (challenge 19-21) with multiple player character boxes, and since I couldn't make intuitive sense of their priority order, I had to write it down instead.”
- “Also on a different note, the soundtrack just really does not do it for me; it's forgettable and annoying.”
- “Minor presentation issues: some aspects of the game's presentation, such as the UI and looping background music, could benefit from further polish to enhance the overall experience.”
graphics
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
63%
4%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a minimalist and abstract art style that is both simple and charming, enhancing the overall gameplay experience without being distracting. Players appreciate the clean visuals and smooth animations, which effectively support the puzzle mechanics while maintaining a pleasant aesthetic. The combination of cute graphics and a fitting soundtrack creates a captivating atmosphere, making the game visually appealing despite its simplicity.
- “The aesthetics are simple and cute, and the music is very pleasant, and fitting for the respective worlds they're in.”
- “Delightful visuals and soundtrack: the charming visuals and Priscilla Snow's meditative electronic soundtrack create a cheerful and captivating atmosphere, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- “The visuals are clean and the soundtrack is excellent.”
- “The visuals are nothing flashy, but that's so you can concentrate; the visuals don't detract from the experience as it feels they made them with specific focus in towards letting the player easily consume what is going on.”
- “The visuals of entering your own clone in that level sear my retinas.”
- “A few more minutes could have been spent on the graphics, too.”
story
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
39%
52%
The game lacks a narrative, with multiple reviewers noting that it is purely a puzzle-focused experience without any story elements. While some players appreciate the absence of a plot, viewing it as a positive for a puzzle game, others feel that a story could have enhanced the overall experience. Overall, the emphasis is on the puzzles rather than any form of storytelling or progression.
- “I finished probably 80% of the main story without actually using brain power (just via randomly doing the first thing I see), and couldn't bother finishing the challenges because they were largely the same.”
- “But it doesn't need a story.”
- “There's no story to speak of, so you'll really only be playing it for the sense of completion.”
- “There is no story; this is a pure puzzler.”
- “It's like Portal without a story.”
humor
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and absurdity, often eliciting genuine laughter from players through its inventive puzzle design and self-referential mechanics. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to blend challenging gameplay with hilarious scenarios, making it not only entertaining but also thought-provoking. Overall, the humor is described as a standout feature that enhances the gaming experience, making it memorable and enjoyable.
- “Made me laugh out loud with delight multiple times, which is pretty much the highest praise I can give a puzzle game.”
- “I loved it so much, constantly laughing at the utter ridiculousness of the paraboxes and mind-boggled from the simplest rooms with subtle, clever solutions.”
- “The game had me giggling several times throughout my playthrough with all the hilariously absurd things it managed to pull off.”
emotional
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, feeling a mix of brilliance and frustration as they solve intricate puzzles. The introduction of new mechanics elicits genuine joy, while the overall experience evokes nostalgia reminiscent of classic puzzle games like Portal. Although it may lack a deep narrative, the satisfaction derived from overcoming challenges creates a rewarding emotional journey.
- “The introduction of the recursion mechanic made me feel genuine joy.”
- “Playing this made me feel really nice and clever.”
- “Consistently made me feel smart and consistently blew my mind.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
88%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience. While some levels can feel tedious, particularly due to setup processes and limited space, the majority of puzzles are engaging and not overly repetitive. Players appreciate the challenge without it becoming frustrating, although a few noted the need for additional lives to manage grinding effectively.
- “Shuffling the pieces around is tedious; there isn’t a lot of room in most levels, and pushing things against a wall by accident and having to redo parts is annoying.”
- “Like, out of all 364 levels in the game, there was only 1 I got kind of annoyed by, and I can't even say I dislike the level; it just had a tedious setup process to get to the actual puzzle I did like 2 dozen times before figuring it out.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by delightful visuals and a meditative soundtrack that enhance the overall experience, creating a cheerful and captivating environment. While the puzzles are well-designed within a clean and relaxing setting, some players noted a decline in musical quality from the demo to the full game, with the latter featuring less engaging "elevator music."
- “Delightful visuals and soundtrack: the charming visuals and Priscilla Snow's meditative electronic soundtrack create a cheerful and captivating atmosphere, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- “Extremely well designed puzzles wrapped in a clean and relaxing atmosphere.”
- “Oh, and the music is lovely, perfectly fits the atmosphere of peaceful mind-bending.”
- “The atmosphere feels lifeless and uninspired, making it hard to get immersed in the game.”
- “Despite the beautiful graphics, the overall atmosphere lacks any real tension or excitement.”
- “The game tries to create a dark atmosphere, but it ends up feeling more dull than eerie.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game boasts high replayability due to its varied puzzle difficulty, appealing to both younger players and adults. The challenge of solving puzzles without clear solutions adds to the experience, encouraging players to revisit the game.
- “Great puzzle game with very high replayability value.”
- “The puzzles are a nice difficulty; some of which are playable by my 5-year-old son, while others leave me scratching my head for a while.”
- “Sometimes this includes solving a puzzle without knowing how – which is great for replayability.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Overall, users report a stable experience with the game, highlighting its fun and clean design, as well as the absence of bugs. However, some note that the design is quite simple.
- “The game is fun, clean, and bug-free, showcasing a good design despite its simplicity.”
- “I appreciate the stability of the game; it runs smoothly without any crashes or glitches.”
- “The overall experience is very stable, allowing me to enjoy the gameplay without interruptions.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The levels are well-optimized, striking a balance between challenge and accessibility, making them engaging without being overly difficult.
- “The levels are perfectly optimized: not too easy, but not brutally hard.”
- “The game strikes a great balance in difficulty, making each level feel well-optimized for both challenge and enjoyment.”
- “I appreciate how the optimization of the gameplay keeps me engaged without feeling overwhelmed.”

80%Critics’ scoreBased on 4 critic reviews

Buy Patrick's Parabox

11h Median play time

12h Average play time

7-20h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 10 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

89%25.4kreviews

Baba Is You

2019

Casual Puzzle

+11

87%2.5kreviews

Stephen's Sausage Roll

2016

Open World Puzzle

92%761reviews

A Monsters Expedition

2020

Open World Puzzle

+10

87%4.4kreviews

The Pedestrian

2022

Platformer

99%320reviews

Can of Wormholes

2023

Puzzle

90%5.6kreviews

COCOON

2023

Action Adventure

+10

90%9.6kreviews

Antichamber

2013

Simulation

93%687reviews

Taiji

2022

Open World Puzzle

88%7.6kreviews

Viewfinder

2023

Puzzle

98%590reviews

Recursed

2016

Puzzle

Patrick's Parabox Tweets

Patrick's Parabox

Platforms

About