BoxMaker

BoxMaker is a 3rd-person action game developed and published by Silver Moon Internet, released on Windows in August 2017. Players engage in direct control gameplay, navigating through a platform-driven world. The game offers a unique blend of action and strategy, challenging players to master the art of creating and manipulating boxes to overcome obstacles and enemies.

BoxMaker: A Deep Dive into an Ambitious yet Flawed Platformer Experiment

Introduction

In the crowded landscape of indie platformers, BoxMaker (2017) stands as a curious artifact—a game that dared to blend the nostalgia of Super Mario with user-generated content, yet stumbled under the weight of its own ambitions. Developed by Silver Moon Internet, this Windows-exclusive title promised a dynamic mix of platforming action and creative freedom, but its legacy is marked by a contentious reception and unanswered potential. This review unpacks BoxMaker’s journey from concept to cult oddity, examining how its innovative systems clashed with technical shortcomings and a lack of narrative vision.

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Development History & Context

BoxMaker emerged in August 2017, a product of the Unity engine (version 4.6.5f1) and the small studio Silver Moon Internet. At a time when indie platformers like Celeste and Hollow Knight were redefining the genre with polished mechanics and emotional depth, BoxMaker positioned itself as a homage to retro classics, with a twist: a robust level editor for player-driven content.

However, the studio’s inexperience showed. The game’s development was shrouded in obscurity, with minimal marketing and no clear creative pedigree. Unlike contemporaries that leveraged Kickstarter or early access to build hype, BoxMaker arrived quietly, its Steam page touting a Super Mario-inspired experience with “various tools and scenes” for mission creation. The lack of a MobyGames-approved description at launch hinted at a rushed or undersupported project, a red flag for its subsequent reception.

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Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Let’s be blunt: BoxMaker has no narrative to speak of. The game’s Steam description vaguely references “different levels of its game setting,” but no characters, plot, or themes are explored. This absence of storytelling isn’t inherently a flaw—many platformers thrive on pure mechanics—but it highlights a missed opportunity.

In an era where even minimalist platformers like Inside or Limbo used environmental storytelling to profound effect, BoxMaker’s sterile, boxy worlds felt inert. The game’s Chinese subtitle, “盒子制造” (“Box Maker”), underscores its utilitarian focus: this is a game about objects, not people or ideas. Without even the rudimentary charm of Mario’s “save the princess” premise, BoxMaker failed to forge an emotional connection with players.

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Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

BoxMaker’s core pitch centered on two pillars:
1. Classic Platforming: Inspired by Super Mario, players navigated obstacle-laden stages with running, jumping, and (presumably) enemy evasion.
2. Level Editor: A suite of tools allowed players to design and share custom missions, with a ranking system for popular creations.

Unfortunately, both systems suffered from critical flaws:

Platforming

• Controls: Reviews lambasted the “floaty” and unresponsive movement, a death knell for a genre demanding precision. Unlike Mario’s tight physics, BoxMaker’s protagonist reportedly slid and stumbled, turning basic jumps into exercises in frustration.
• Level Design: Pre-built stages were described as “generic” and “uninspired,” lacking the clever pacing or surprises of its inspirations.

Level Editor

• Creation Tools: While innovative in theory, the editor was reportedly clunky and unintuitive. Unlike Super Mario Maker’s drag-and-drop simplicity, BoxMaker’s system required technical patience, limiting its appeal.
• Community Engagement: The ranking system for player missions never gained traction. With no modding community or developer support, the feature withered.

Technical Issues

• Performance: The Unity engine’s limitations were apparent, with players reporting crashes, bugs, and sluggish load times.

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World-Building, Art & Sound

Visually, BoxMaker opted for a minimalist 3D aesthetic, with blocky environments and rudimentary textures. The art direction lacked cohesion—neither retro-stylized nor modernly sleek, it fell into an uncanny valley of indifference.

Sound design was equally forgettable. No standout tracks or atmospheric effects were noted in reviews, leaving levels feeling eerily silent. Compared to the upbeat melodies of Mario or the haunting ambience of LittleNightmares, BoxMaker’s audio was a non-factor.

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Reception & Legacy

BoxMaker’s Steam launch was a disaster. With a Player Score of 30/100 (33 positive vs. 78 negative reviews), it earned a “Mostly Negative” rating. Complaints centered on:
– Janky Controls: “Feels like walking on ice.”
– Barebones Content: “Five levels and then nothing.”
– Broken Promises: The level editor was “half-baked.”

Critics ignored the game entirely—no reviews appear on Metacritic or major outlets like Game Informer, which in 2017 lavished praise on titles like Super Mario Odyssey and Horizon Zero Dawn. BoxMaker vanished into obscurity, pulled from digital storefronts by 2025.

Yet, its legacy persists in niche circles. The GitHub project BoxMakerDecompiled (2025) preserves its code as a cautionary tale for aspiring developers. The game’s ambition—to merge creation and gameplay—anticipated trends like Roblox’s user-generated empire, but without the technical polish or community infrastructure to succeed.

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Conclusion

BoxMaker is a textbook case of wasted potential. Its vision—a Mario-like platformer with infinite player-made levels—was noble, but hobbled by shoddy execution, absent narrative, and a lack of post-launch support. While it serves as a fascinating case study in indie game pitfalls, it’s hard to recommend outside of historical curiosity.

In the annals of video game history, BoxMaker is a footnote—a reminder that even the boldest ideas require craftsmanship and heart. For those intrigued by its premise, stick to Super Mario Maker 2. For everyone else, let this box remain closed.

Final Verdict: A flawed experiment with fleeting glimpses of ambition, best left to archive hunters and game design students. ★☆☆☆☆