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Stretchmo continues Nintendo's push into freemium gaming today

Nintendo has dropped a surprise for fans of the Pushmo series, releasing Stretchmo on the 3DS eShop today as a free-to-play game. Of course, those looking for a more traditional straight-up purchase have that option, too.

Ozzie Mejia

May 14, 2015 1:40 PM

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Nintendo is still attempting to grasp the concept of strange new world concepts like "free-to-play" and "freemium" games. Their endeavors thus far have ranged from novel (Rusty's Real Deal Baseball) to brutal (Pokemon Shuffle). Their latest venture into this concept looks to straddle the line between "modern freemium" and more traditional by returning to the Pushmo franchise with a new 3DS game called Stretchmo.

Stretchmo reintroduces the pushing and pulling mechanics of the previous series entries, btu also introduces a new stretching mechanic. While pushing blocks to complete puzzles is still the main goal, some stages will require stretching blocks beyond their borders across one or more sides. As with other Pushmo series games, players can also create their own custom puzzles and share them with friends, in this case via the Stretchmo Studio.

The big difference is that Stretchmo can be considered on its surface to be a freemium game, one that includes the first seven starter puzzles for free. Additional passes with new puzzles can be purchased for varying prices. These include Mallo's Playtime Plaza, which comes with 100 puzzles for $4.99, or three other 50-puzzle bundles for $2.99 each. Those looking for a more traditional purchase can also purchase the whole shebang for a flat $9.99.

Stretchmo is available now on the 3DS eShop. For more, check out the video below.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?