Psychopath - pathfinding puzzle game

[Frevett]

Having played this game for a while I thought I'd post this here as some of you might enjoy it. Basically http://www.k2xl.com/games/psychopath/index2.php" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">Psychopath (and Psychopath 2) is a puzzle game where in each level you have to find a route from point A to B. The catch is that to complete the level you have to do it in the smallest number of steps possible (i.e. if a level is possible in eight steps, doing it in nine or ten isn't good enough)

It's a simple concept and you only have to deal with a very limited amount of obstacles: in the original game there are only immovable walls and blocks you can push (one at a time, no pulling); but one which can be used to make incredibly difficult levels. Including a database crash a year or two ago, over 10 million games have been played, yet only around 60 people have completed the original game.

There are 71 levels with a fairly shallow learning curve to start with, the difficulty ramps up significantly after a while however. I've attached a picture of level 30 (one which trips up many people) for anyone interested.

I know many people here like creating levels as well, and this game comes with a level editor for that.


http://www.k2xl.com/games/psychopath2/" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">Psychopath 2 added two more obstacles: restricted movables that you can only push in one or two directions; and holes which you must fill with a block before you can pass over. Many of the harder PP1 levels end up being fairly large to become difficult; however with these new additions it becomes a lot easier to make small levels which are still very challenging.
It is also non-linear (PP1 requires you to beat a level before you can move onto the next) so if you're stuck you can pick any other level you like and play that instead, and contains all the levels from the original PP1. Currently only two people have completed PP2.
However, PP2 can often run fairly slowly (especially the stats page), which can get frustrating; whereas PP1 runs very smoothly (and has an excellent soundtrack)

To my knowledge there are no walkthroughs for either game (mainly due to it having such a small community), but you can ask for hints on the http://www.k2xl.com/phpBB3/index.php" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">forum and hopefully someone will be able to help. Unfortunately many of the hints that were posted before were also lost in the database crash.

From past experience this thread will die before generating any real interest. Most people either play the first 10-15 levels and dismiss it as too easy; or get further and give up because it's too hard.

[ccexplore]

This sounds basically like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokoban" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">Sokoban except adding the requirement of a minimal-step solution, and removing the requirement that the pushable blocks have to end up in specific locations.

[Frevett]

The gameplay mechanics are the same, yeah. I only have a limited experience with Sokoban, but the different objective (getting just yourself to an exit rather than organising the blocks) leads to a pretty different style of puzzle.

[geoo]

I actually played till level 35 or 36 two days ago, though playing as a guest it didn't save my progress, so I don't really have the motivation to re-do that. The gameplay is a bit monotonous anyway.

[Frevett]

I should've mentioned needing to register to keep track of progress, my bad. I guess the gameplay can get a little monotonous, especially in the lower levels which are pretty linear.

[geoo]

Actually, the game itself pointed it out, though that was at about level 10, so I thought it'd allow me to register anytime during play.