Most games that blend action and puzzle elements either keep them running simultaneously or segment them into levels that alternate between the two. Heal Infected Sprunkies does something different: it commits fully to the boss fight first and then commits fully to the healing sequences after. There is no mixing of the two modes. The result is that each half of the game gets to operate on its own terms without either one being diluted by the presence of the other.
The boss fight section works because it is uncompromising about what it is. It is tense, it does not give you much room for error, and it ends only when Mr. Black is actually defeated. The healing section works because it is allowed to be slow, strange, and character-focused without the game treating that as a compromise. The contrast between the two halves is what makes both of them feel more significant than they would in isolation.

