Vessel Flows Onto PS3 With Puzzling Goodness This March

Sony has announced yet another title in the long line of indie games flocking to their collection of consoles, this time a water-based physics puzzler for the PlayStation 3 known as Vessel. Get wet on March 11.

While there are certainly a couple of other games you might want to pick up come March 11, the developers at Strange Loop Games are hoping you'll save at least a few of your dollars for their smaller puzzle package, Vessel. Studio Head John Krajewski recently revealed the game as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, with a launch to be celebrated with unique Vestal Turbines, liquid-based desk toys that come to life when a magnet is nearby. For all of the details on those nifty little gadgets, visit Strange Loop's official website.

As for the game itself, players will take on the role of an inventor by the name of Arkwright, a man responsible for creating “living machines made out of liquid.” Unfortunately, these living machines, known as Fluros, are causing a bit of trouble in Arkwright's world, and it's up to the creator to set things right.

According to Krajewski, Vessal sets itself apart from the pack with its liquid physics, creating creatures and elements that are literally created by combining thousands of physically simulated fluid particles, allowing them to move freely, melt, take on different shapes and flow realistically through the world.

“All the puzzles in Vessel are based on interactions with this living liquid,” said Krajewski. “Exploring and understanding how to bring liquid to life will lead to success. You have the ability to create and destroy those creatures, and the story revolves around their inventor as he sees them evolve and become lifeforms of their own.”

The world is certainly pretty to look at, mixing familiar steampunk aesthetics with additional colors and lots and lots of water. The music, too, is of note, the work of electronica artist Jon Hopkins, best known for his work on the indie film, Monsters. In a sort of interesting soundtrack evolution reminiscent of Sound Shapes, additional layers of each level's soundtrack is added to the mix as you complete more and more steps in the puzzle.

“Users solve puzzles by combining the unique behaviors of each creature with the fluid they're created from,” Krajewski continued. “Every aspect of the world is physically simulated, and all puzzles are based in the liquid simulation.”

With more than 10 hours of puzzling content ready to be solved, fans of the genre can look to pick up Vessel on the PS3 come March 11.