Sliding Hero turns a controversial puzzle format into an otherworldly journey through a cursed Venetian carnival

I had initially assumed that the puzzle game Sliding Hero counts was a Sokoban-esque game, until I realized that it’s actually you, not the endless boxes, that’s doing the sliding here. Still, I wasn’t entirely convinced. The only thing fun to endlessly slide back and forth on is a lazy cat on a slippery countertop. Still, after experimenting with the Steam demo of Sliding Hero, I think it could have a lot longer legs than its restrictive concept suggests. All the better to endlessly slide along.

First off, I’m an absolute sucker for Venetian carnival decorations. This is partly due to classic Italian Commedia dell’arte tropes like the Zanni, partly to the miniatures game Carnevale, and partly to Thomas Ligotti’s Teatro Grottesco. It’s such fertile material for horror and fantasy, and I’m always happy to see it pop up in games. The game itself is fairly clean and unassuming pixel art, albeit with the occasional wild background feature like a really large person emerging from a hole in the ground. The character art, on the other hand, reminds me of Supergiant games like Hades or Pyre , and even coming close to that is a beautiful piece of scrawling splendor.

Your character, Luca, moves only by sliding, and always as far in the given direction as possible. As such, you’ll need to block yourself with environmental obstacles to progress. You’ll also need to clear each screen of enemies before proceeding, which you do by sliding into, preferably after collecting a weapon. There are pitfalls to jump on, timed spike traps, and other hazards that will try to ruin your slideathon. You can also discover snippets of lore by going the extra mile to collect optional scrolls. The maps thread together in Metroidvania style, with new paths opening up once you’ve acquired certain upgrades.

I can see this being a Marmite job, simply because it relies so heavily on a certain type of puzzle, apparently inspired by Pokémon’s ice caves. Still, there’s a lot of imagination in it, and it seems to add new wrinkles and ideas as you progress. Did I write about it just so I could use the word ‘carnivalesque’? No, absolutely not. Was that a huge factor? See, it’s a good word!