Full Bore Review (PC)

Puzzle platformers have delivered some really outlandish experiences over the years, from Italian plumbers to vampires and many other beings becoming protagonists in such titles.

Full Bore, from small independent studio Whole Hog, stars a boar which goes on an amazing trip underground in order to mine for gems and uncover the origins of a society of sentient animals.

With a big emphasis on puzzles and the navigation of a complex mine environment, Full Bore definitely seems to be a thinking man's game, even if it stars an animal. Does it deliver a good experience or does it bore players? Let's find out.

Play as a boar ...

... and go on an adventure

Full Bore begins with players choosing one of two different boars and then getting blasted into the depths of a mysterious mining system. After a brief tutorial, you're introduced to its ruler, a rich pig which sends players into the mine in order to dig up as many gems as possible.

Throughout the complex journey you'll get to meet other miners and help them in different ways, while making your way through the different environments.

Full Bore is a puzzle platformer, but there's a bigger emphasis on solving puzzles and exploration than on navigating a quick succession of platforms. Your boar can only move one block at a time and the jump button can also be used just once. You can, however, burrow into certain blocks made out of earth, sand, or stone, while others are invulnerable to your tusks.

While the premise may be simplistic and outlandish, the actual experience is a rather challenging and requires quite a bit of strategy and thinking. Knowing what blocks to destroy and what to leave alone is important if you want to get to your precious gems, but you mustn't be afraid of tearing down all destroyable blocks, as many hide paths to other, secret areas.

Most levels have a sort of checkpoint system and you can also use a time rewind function that can take you back a certain period of time, rebuilding the blocks you’ve destroyed along the way. This system is limited in some cases, so don't expect it to be that helpful.

Full Bore doesn't attempt to hold your hand, as it offers a big amount of freedom to players and allows them to use all the different abilities of their boar right from the get-go. As such, you can practically explore the whole range of mines but this does require skill in terms of puzzle solving and environment navigation.

There is a waypoint system, not to mention plenty of hidden zones, but oftentimes you'll certainly get confused about your goal and what you should do next. This is probably when some players might abandon Full Bore or resort to a YouTube tutorial, but it's at least worth one more attempt or one more out of the box idea.

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The visuals are pixelated but they have a pretty good style, and the lighting system makes the experience look even better. The animations are good and the small pixelated boars look quite fun.

The soundtrack is really impressive, being comprised of different songs that range from happy and melodic to grim and dark, fit for the life in a gem mine. They're all rather good and most don't distract form the puzzle solving process.

Start exploring ...

... but don't get lost

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion