Grid-based puzzle game Prickle may look simple, but it's an adorable test of endurance

GamesPuzzleGrid-based puzzle game Prickle may look simple, but it’s an adorable test of enduranceWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Sunbird Studio)

Prickle puzzle with Dadhog and a hoglet

Besides moving around the grid-based map and occasionally rotating, you don’t have to worry about any other controls. But, the more hoglets you pick up, the more careful you have to be with your positioning, which is where things increase in difficulty.

Before long I found myself retracing my own steps trying to strategically work out the best way to migrate around the map. If that failed, I restarted each level more times than I’d like to admit. When hoglets are stuck to Dadhog (the hedgehog you control) you have to figure out the best way to rotate them, sort of like a Tetris piece. So expect a lot of trial and error before you figure it out.

However, solving these puzzles feels incredibly rewarding once you hear the happy chirps of your hoglets. Despite there not being any dialogue, I quickly became emotionally invested in my hedgehog family. Getting them safely to the door was enough incentive to try every single possible way to solve the puzzle—regardless of how frustrated I ended up getting at certain puzzles that I felt like I just couldn’t hack. It was all worth it when the chorus of squeaks erupted at the end of a level.

Fortunately, if you do get particularly stuck, there’s a hint button that serves as a general nudge in the right direction rather than holding your hand entirely. With that said, there were times when I felt like I could’ve used slightly more assistance, mostly because no matter how many rotations I tried one of my pesky hoglets was getting me stuck. On the harder levels, these hints only tell you the position of a few hedgehogs. But these more vague hints only helped the eventual ‘eureka’ moment that came once I figured it out.

Prickle’s demo includes plenty of puzzles for you to work through to get a good feel for its challenge. Or if you’re me, enough time to become emotionally attached to the hoglets you’re responsible for. It’s laidback without feeling repetitive, and its simple design still manages to be so charming. I’ve become slightly too attached to my hedgehog family, so I’m growing somewhat desperate to be able to play the full game.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

More about puzzleToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetLatestPiranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’See more latest►

More about puzzleToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planet

More about puzzle

Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planet

Today’s Wordle being played on a phone

Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10

A map of an alien planet

Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planet

LatestPiranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’See more latest►

Latest

Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’

Mechwarrior 5: Clans

Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’

See more latest►

Most Popular

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

6 games that could be bigger hits than you’re expecting in 2025

What are your 2025 gaming resolutions?

The FBI put a $5 million bounty on the ‘Cryptoqueen’ last year but still hasn’t found her, so take your pick: Russia, South Africa, or murdered on a yacht in 2018

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals