Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Unusual puzzler cleverly uses perspective, but it's hard.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Crush 3D
What's It About?
A wacky professor has come up with a way for people to experience worlds that shift between two and three dimensions in CRUSH 3D for Nintendo 3DS. Players take on the role of a young man who unwittingly becomes a guinea pig for the professor's experiments. He finds himself inhabiting virtual environments in his subconscious that can be \"crushed,\" flattening them to two dimensions. You can also shift the camera around our protagonist, allowing you to crush the environment from new angles. This unique mechanic allows our hero to bypass and overcome obstacles, find hidden collectibles, and squish the occasional bug on his way toward finding an exit in each of the game's 50 or so puzzles.
Is It Any Good?
Crush 3D is clever and fun, but it may well break your brain. Imagining what an environment will look like transformed from three dimensions to two -- or back again -- is harder than you make think. Thank goodness the game's developer, Zoe Mode, is forgiving in the game's design. The puzzles are challenging, but there are plenty of save points. And crushing never has fatal results -- though you can accidentally jump off ledges if you aren't careful. It's also a case of a game in which the 3DS's stereoscopic display is a true benefit.
It could be a little more robust -- a game that costs $30 should last longer than five or six hours -- but there's little denying its cleverness and innovation. It's worth it for puzzle fans looking for something different.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how we use reasoning skills in our day-to-day lives. What are some activities that require you to consider consequences before taking action?
Families can also discuss the ethics of scientific experimentation. When is it appropriate to use real people to test new technologies and theories? When is it not? At what point do the ends cease to justify the means?
What are some other puzzle games that you have played and enjoyed?
Game Details
- Platform : Nintendo 3DS
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Sega of America
- Release date : March 6, 2012
- Genre : Puzzle
- Topics : Animals ( Bugs ) , STEM
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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