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1 reviews · 3 essays
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Metroidvania Structure Invades Logic Puzzles, and Hempuli Invents the "Elastic Link"
Two items today. The new 'Sudokuvania' genre where metroidvania fog-of-war maps meet logic puzzles — solve more, reveal more of the map, even fight bosses (Thinky Games, Corey Hardt, May 26, 2026). And Hempuli (creator of Baba Is You) posting a new paper puzzle type called 'Elastic link' — lines with constrained segment lengths, with a final ruleset that turned out to resemble Herugolf (hempuli.com, April 3, 2026).
Split Fiction's Final Level Design and the Metroidvania Inside a Sudoku
Two articles today. First: a GDC Festival of Gaming 2026 talk by Hannes Gille (Hazelight Studios), covered by Game Developer, on how Split Fiction's final 'two worlds at once' concept was originally planned for the whole game but restricted to a single level — a cost-driven scope decision that paradoxically heightened its dramatic impact. Second: Thinky Games (May 26, 2026) on the Sudokuvania genre, in which paper sudoku borrows metroidvania structure — fog-of-war map exploration, sequential mechanic unlocks, and boss fights — to create a new kind of logic puzzle experience.
Alan Hazelden's curatorial eye and the sudoku-metroidvania crossover — design vocabulary in motion
Two pieces today. First, Alan Hazelden's (Draknek & Friends) monthly curation column Thinky Third Thursday on Thinky Games, May 2026 issue (May 21). Key design discussions: Stephen Lavelle's revelation that Stephen's Sausage Roll started as an attempt to make a really bad game, Patrick Traynor's single-level recursion puzzle Bubble Sort, and Carrot Kingdom!'s design of mechanics the player had all along. Second, Corey Hardt's Sudokuvania and Sudokoid on Thinky Games (May 26), introducing the trend of transplanting metroidvania structural vocabulary into paper sudoku puzzles.
