Inbento Review
I never really connected with Nintendo consoles. I suspect this is because I grew up owning various PlayStations, or maybe it’s a kind of stubborn contrarianism borne out of some Freudian jealousy of my friends, but whatever the reason I’ve never been that eager to own a Nintendo console. That’s why it took me nearly three years to get a Nintendo Switch, and then only because my girlfriend bought one for me. Now that I have one though, I like it quite a bit. One of my favorite features of the Switch is its versatility, not only because it can alternate between a TV-connected console and a handheld gaming device, but also because it hosts very small games along side the big ones. These games include some so small that might only ever be on a phone, a platform I’m extremely hesitant to purchase games for. Along that line, last week Nintendo became the first console to feature Inbento, an adorable puzzle game about cats making Asian food that caught my eye.
It probably won’t surprise anyone, but Inbento is a puzzle game about assembling bento boxes. At the start of each puzzle, players are given a bento box that is just as often filled as it is empty, a selection of one to five pieces and a picture showing the bento players are trying to assemble using the provided pieces. The bento itself is typically three squares by three squares, but later in the game it gets up to four by three. The pieces are adorably presented in the kind of tray you see at Asian restaurants holding condiments and come in one of two kinds: ingredient pieces and action pieces. Ingredient pieces are one to three squares of food that are put into the bento while action pieces manipulate the squares within the bento in some way, whether swapping two squares, duplicating one square onto another, or scooping squares out to be used again later. As new ingredients are added to the bento, any ingredient already present in the spaces are flattened into oblivion by the incoming ingredient. This, combined with the limited space and moves, means players have to be both clever and careful.
After completing about 70% of Inbento, I have to say I’m impressed with the puzzles. First and foremost, the puzzles are delightfully challenging without feel insurmountable. The puzzles definitely stretched my mental muscles, but thanks to the restricted number of possible moves and a generously included Undo button, I could work my way through to the solution without spending so much time on any one puzzle that I got frustrated. There are also a terrific number of puzzles available in Inbento. The game is divided up into 14 chapters of a scrap book, with each chapter containing nine puzzles. Unless my math skills have gotten extremely rusty, that works out to 126 different puzzles. Setting aside the one or two tutorial levels at the beginning of each chapter that teach players new action pieces, I’d approximate there are a solid 110 puzzles in Inbento, which is an admirable number. Best of all though is the game’s visual design. The squares of ingredients are both vibrant and evocative thanks to art that has a simple but bold color palette that’s only detailed enough to make it clear what food it represents. And Inbento keeps the visual design fresh by shifting themes, which is to say meals, every few chapters. Probably my favorite theme was the breakfast chapters with the sharp green of peppers playing off the warmer, calmer colors of bacon and eggs.
While Inbento does a great job with its puzzles, it falls short with its theme. Admittedly, I have never made or eaten a bento box, but I’ve spoken to people who have and mashing ingredients on top of each other as the player does in Inbento isn’t part of the bento experience, so it’s strange to me that this is such a major mechanic in the game. Moving ingredients around, placing new ingredients in all to make pleasing patterns make sense in the context of building a bento but smashing ingredients over top of each other just doesn’t fit. Even less applicable is Inbento’s very limited story. As the game starts, players are introduced to and step into the shoes of an anthropomorphic cat who is the single parent that loves to build bentos for their young child. All of the story is presented through one to three still images presented at the beginning of the game and at the end of each chapter. While these are adorable and even touching at times, it has nearly nothing to do with bentos and has no bearing on the gameplay. In spite of the game’s excellent visual design, the total irrelevance of its presented story shows that Inbento could have just as easily could have been about building stained glass windows, alchemical experiments, or even city blocks. It’s a real shame because the core loop of Inbento is so well executed but the attempted narrative feels completely irrelevant and tacked on.
Aside from the ill-fitting narrative, Inbento knows exactly what it is and how to be good at it. The visual design is incredible, the puzzles are deviously challenging, and the controls are simple enough for anyone to enjoy. Beyond all that, Inbento is an incredibly affordable $5 and is an excellent fit for the versatility of the Switch, either as a full-screen experience with some brainy friends or as a relaxing wind-down before bed in handheld mode. If you’ve got a Switch and love puzzles, I heartily recommend Inbento.
Buy this game at full price
It’s worth every penny they’re asking
