For more than a decade, World of Goo was thought to be a one-hit wonder by developer 2D Boy. Released by Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler back in 2008, it was one of a handful of titles that catapulted indie games into the mainstream and was both critically and commercially successful with the aid of digital distribution. At the time, this two-man team stated in interviews that there wasn’t going to be a sequel. But after an excruciatingly long hiatus, 2D Boy has finally reunited for another round. A hands-on demo of World of Goo 2 was available at the Nintendo Switch Partners event during GDC 2024, and within just a few minutes of play, it was clear that the studio had taken advantage of today’s technological advances without losing any of the scrappiness of the original puzzler.

Liquid gold

Liquid physics is the main innovation of World of Goo 2. The first game only had Goo Balls with some vague renderings of water, but this time around, the developers had the opportunity to experiment with liquid goo. 2D Boy, alongside Gabler’s studio called Tomorrow Corporation, worked with a new dimension of physics simulation - how liquid flows and splashes with gravity and against solid objects - and made that the centerpiece of this sequel. Watching the goo swish down angled paths like some kind of wild lava lamp is marvelous.

The premise of every level remains familiar: form structures using Goo Balls to get across gaps and reach the pipe exit. For this Nintendo Switch demo, I was able to select the balls by using the touchscreen or just half of the regular controller. Working with one of the developers in co-op, I was able to connect balls together to form supports that can be used to construct towers or bridges. This allowed the goo to flow from one section to the next, hopefully without needing to use too many balls in case you need them for a later structure. 

As goo as new

The demo strung together stages from various sections of the final release to provide a better snapshot of it will include. Along the way, I was introduced to new and old variations of Goo Balls, the first being a green ball that provided three supports instead of two and could be easily reused. A translucent Conduit ball could also create supports that could be filled with goo, allowing the liquid to be transferred from one area to the next. My favorite among the new additions is the Jelly Goo Ball, a giant-sized amoeba-like goop with three eyes that can be divided multiple times before reforming back into a whole, like a more pleasant version of the Venom symbiote from Spider-man.

The developers shared that the final release of the game will have more than ten Goo Balls in total and that there will be levels that will involve water or lava. Players who want to challenge themselves can replay each stage to see if they can beat each stage under a certain time, a certain number of moves, and with use of a certain number of balls. When asked about a potential level editor or mod support, the developers didn’t have any official word on it, but they were interested in the idea given that the original game had fan-made stages too.

World of Goo 2 arrives on May 23, 2024 for Nintendo Switch as well as Windows and Mac via Epic Games Store. The game’s website will offer a version for the game for Windows, Mac, and Linux without DRM. 2D Boy has not announced the game yet for other consoles.

This preview is based on a hands-on demo of the game at the Nintendo Switch Partners event during GDC 2024.