Mighty Switch Force is WayForward's third "Mighty" title and its first eShop game. As is tradition for the company, the game is female-centric. MSF is a puzzle platformer where players control Patricia Wagon, a robot cop sent to recapture the five Hooligan Sisters, a set of provocative, but apparently bad girls. The girls don't put up any fight; they just hang out in inconvenient places waiting to be shipped back to jail. After picking up the Sisters, Patricia must make her way to a transport to be sent to the next stage.

Patricia is equipped with a basic gun and a special helmet, which phases blocks in and out of existence. Levels are particularly designed around this latter ability and they come in all shapes from linear to square. The game includes a radar to direct players to the next girl. The stages include a variety of enemies, some of which must be manipulated into helping you reach certain areas (for example, by exploding and clearing barriers).

The first block type simply phases in and out of existence, acting as platforms (and destroying anything occupying their space), while the second type launches the player or enemies in a particular direction when activated. Level six introduces lockable blocks, which really starts to get you thinking. Two sets of blocks phase, and you can lock one set in place by standing on them, so that the two sets are either in sync or opposite with each other. This ups the trickiness factor in navigating stages.

WayForward spent more time focus testing MSF than the previous Mighty titles (the quirks mentioned earlier are gone), and the result is a more accessible game (though it helps that it's a more traditional action platformer). The game is very easy to pick up and play, and each successive level introduces new concepts smoothly without beating players over the head, leaving them with the chance of rewarding "eureka" moments. Levels include both logic and timing based puzzles that must be solved in order to access all of the areas and capture the girls.

Mighty Switch Force is a highly polished game. The detailed pixel art and animation and the exceptional soundtrack aren't a surprise coming from this developer, but the result is still fantastic. A 2D game, the use of stereoscopic 3D is limited, but effective.

With only sixteen levels, my biggest concern is with the length of the game. An initial playthrough will probably be on the order of an hour. However, players are encouraged to speed-run levels, and the game includes a par time as well as keeping a record of best times.

Mighty Switch Force provides a nice twist on the puzzle platformer and features an excellent presentation. The game launches on December 22, and I look forward to picking it up then.