PUSS // Sour Punch Straws

With new indies coming out every day, we've each developed filters to determine how to spend our time. Not just what to play, but which games to even click on in a timeline or storefront. Fortunately as a cat person, pretty much anything feline-adjacent will instantly paw at my attention.

PUSS is a puzzle game in which you move a vaguely cat-shaped icon through single-screen mazes, avoiding deadly walls at all costs. Imagine the children's game Operation, but instead of plucking out an ailment, you must carefully levitate it through a tight corridor. The PS1 game Irritating Stick had a similar mechanic, but here the pathways—and thus room for error—are even smaller. Touch an electrified boundary for more than a half-second and you'll lose one of your dozen lives. It wouldn't be all that challenging if it weren't for the various obstacles and moving walls which will repeatedly squash our cat friend.

If the gameplay doesn't command your attention, the psychedelic art style surely will. Just take a look at the trailer:

Each level is a medley of sound files and gifs that plucked straight out of an early 2000s webring, a true Y2K cacophony for the senses. I've never dropped acid while scrolling through Angelfire pages (yet), but I imagine it's a similar vibe. A series of levels ends with a boss that ranges from a demonic chihuahua to a Virgin Mary in bisexual lighting. The playful irreverence is a nice chaser to the otherwise anxiety-inducing gameplay.

So when thinking of a snack pairing, it had to be something equally as garish and flavorful. Sour Punch straws are a good start, but how about sipping Mountain Dew Voltage through one to fully assault my taste buds? (And possibly eating another candy legal in my state about 60 minutes before playing the game.) I opted for the Pineapple-Mango Chili Sour Punch straws which have a smidge of heat in the aftertaste. It's a nice complement to the Voltage, the flavor of which I can only describe as "blue."

I do try to finish a game before having an opinion, but after beating just one of the game's five worlds, I can pretty confidently say I get the picture. The rest of the Sour Punch straws (and other highly taxed gummies in childproof packaging) will reside in my pantry for now. Finishing the whole package won't give me any new information. PUSS isn't meant to be mainlined in a week or two, for me anyways. I'd much rather make it a treat. A fun diversion when I need an extra dose of color, cheekiness, and sugary sores in my mouth the next day.