Boxed Out Is A VR Puzzler That Scratches That Tetris Itch

Boxed Out, the latest title from Red Chain Games, is hard to put down. This arcade-style puzzler has the right blend of approachability and complexity to take care of that itch usually only scratched by Tetris.

It’s a straightforward setup: clear the boxes. Coded by between three and five different colors, you’re supposed to match boxes by color in either rows of three or more or boxed groups of four or more to clear them. Boxed Out gives you two different options for lining up your perfect combo of blocks: you can place them, using the grip button, or change the colors of existing blocks using the trigger.

The catch? You don’t get to choose which color is at your disposal. Instead, it’s randomized, with a gun-like object pointing a colored beam indicating what color you’re about to shoot. Boxed Out also previews the next color to plan your move strategically. Clearing boxes causes anything above the cleared boxes to fall, allowing you to set up some incredibly satisfying combos.

You can also pick which direction the boxes come from. I generally preferred forward rather than up or down, but it’s cool to know that I could (theoretically) play the ceiling mode while lying down if I’m feeling particularly lazy—which reminds me. I played Boxed Out seated with a stationary boundary, though I’m sure it’s just as fun played standing up.

Although you can absolutely play without moving in the virtual space, there’s also teleportation-based movement, which allows you to get the best angles and viewpoints on the blocks you want to clear. It’s pretty fun to mess around with the teleportation, especially since you can teleport around on top of blocks, and will fall with them when others are cleared!

There are also two modes available currently: Survival and Solitaire. Survival is precisely what it sounds like: clear as many blocks as possible without having a single one reach the opposite side of the room. Once a block from the front reaches the back, the top to the bottom, or the bottom to the top, it’s game over.

I found myself most gravitating towards the easier matching system of rows of three, but with a more challenging 4-color palette to play against. Solitaire, on the other hand, is more of a low-key puzzle focused on clearing every piece in the room than it is on chasing a high score or racing against the never-ending onslaught of new pieces.

When I first tried Boxed Out, I completely lost track of time. Two hours later, as my headset battery started running low, I took my Quest 2 off, feeling like I’d traveled through time. Boxed Out’s arcade-like setup makes it really replayable, and playing it before launch gave me early access to its leaderboards. Since I was at the #1 spot, I naturally had to keep trying to outdo myself to keep my spot at the top of the heap once it released.

That simple, approachable setup and stationary-friendly play style make Boxed Out effortless to just pick up and play. But don’t let its simplicity fool you into thinking it’s easy. There’s a lot to wrap your mind around. Even if the controls click right away, it’ll take a few rounds for the gears to really start turning. Thankfully, Boxed Out also includes a tutorial that runs you through everything you need to know before chasing the top spot on the leaderboards.

Think you can beat my score? I’d love to see it—Boxed Out is available on the Meta Quest Store right now. It’s also on PC VR and PlayStation VR under a different name.