I really enjoy the overall atmosphere and the mechanics of the puzzles. Unfortunately, it looks like most of the development effort went into the aesthetics and too little on usability testing.
The best iPhone and iPad games for logic puzzles enthusiasts
Showing posts with label light and mirrors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label light and mirrors. Show all posts
Monday, October 13, 2014
Review: Khaba for iPhone and iPad
Khaba by the Swedish Hello There was released last year, but I only played it recently. I was surprised by it because it has high production values, including full voice acting, but it is relatively unknown.
I downloaded the game while it was free for a couple of days. I promptly tweeted about that; make sure to follow me to not miss these opportunities!
I really enjoy the overall atmosphere and the mechanics of the puzzles. Unfortunately, it looks like most of the development effort went into the aesthetics and too little on usability testing.
I really enjoy the overall atmosphere and the mechanics of the puzzles. Unfortunately, it looks like most of the development effort went into the aesthetics and too little on usability testing.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Review: The Weaver for iPhone and iPad
The other day I noticed the polished icon of The Weaver among the new releases, and I was thrilled to see that it was developed by the Portuguese Pyrosphere.
Pyrosphere might not be as well known as other big names in the industry, but I think it is one of the best developers of puzzle games in the world. I've reviewed other great games by them in the past: Lazors, Chess Light, and Bloom Box.
I wasn't disappointed; The Weaver is excellent, and I couldn't stop playing until I had almost finished it.
I wasn't disappointed; The Weaver is excellent, and I couldn't stop playing until I had almost finished it.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Update: Lazors 2.3
The beautiful Lazors has been updated again, adding a new type of block, the Portal!
The new block does what you would expect from any well behaved portal.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Update: Lazors 2.2
An update to the popular Lazors was released a few days ago, featuring 5 new groups of puzzles with cleverly thought themes, for a total of 50 new puzzles.
Numbered features grids shaped like the numbers 1 to 10, and each puzzle even has a matching number of blocks!
Numbered features grids shaped like the numbers 1 to 10, and each puzzle even has a matching number of blocks!
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Update: Lazors 2.1
The excellent Lazors has just been updated to version 2.1, which adds a new type of block, called Crystal:
This creates some interesting new mechanics, especially when the beam crosses the block multiple times. Some of the 30 new levels have surprising solutions.
Well done again Pyrosphere!
©2013 Nicola Salmoria. Unauthorized use and/or duplication without express and written permission is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicola Salmoria and nontrivialgames.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Well done again Pyrosphere!
©2013 Nicola Salmoria. Unauthorized use and/or duplication without express and written permission is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicola Salmoria and nontrivialgames.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Review: Lazors for iPhone and iPad
It looks like this is a good time to talk about Lazors, a brilliant puzzle game for iPhone and iPad by Pyrosphere. The game was originally released in 2010 as a paid app, but after a major update released last week, has changed its monetization scheme and is now free. There is the possibility of buying hints through in-app purchases, but that's completely optional.
The changes seem to have propelled Lazors to the top spots in the charts all over the world. At the time of writing, it's #2 in the US in the Free Apps chart, which is no small feat.
When these things happen, one thinks that there is still hope for humanity. Or for puzzle game developers, at least.
The goal of the game is to deflect a laser beam so that it passes across one or more specific points.This is an idea that has been used multiple times in the past, but usually in this kind of games one starts with an empty grid and needs to add and rotate mirrors or prisms. In Lazors, instead, the grid is already populated with square blocks, which need to be moved around. Blocks may be moved in any free cell of the grid (i.e. this is not a sliding blocks puzzle).
There are a few different types of blocks:
Normal blocks, which reflect the beam at a 90 degrees angle:
Glass blocks, which split the beam in two: part is reflected and part passes through the block
Dark blocks, which just absorb the beam:
Additionally, some blocks may be nailed in position so they can't be moved:
As far as I know, every puzzle has a single solution.
The great thing about these puzzles is that the play area is often quite small (4x4 is a common size), but the solution isn't necessarily easy to find, and might require many reflections in a small space.
The game contains 120 puzzles, split into packs of 10. All packs are accessible from the start, but the puzzles in a pack must be completed in order. This is where buying hints might be useful; also note that when you complete a pack you get some extra hints for free.
Each pack has a theme, e.g. "Braid" features two intersecting lasers instead of one, "Tiny" has particularly small grids, "Darkroom" uses dark blocks, and so on.
In terms of logical reasoning, I found that using logic helps, but often times I reached the solution just by accident. The limited size of the boards means that there are often not that many possible positions of the blocks, so one can reach the solution even by random tinkering. This should make the game appealing to casual players that are just looking for a quick distraction and are not interested in deep thinking.
Graphics are simple, clear, and very well done. I love the transparency effect on the glass blocks.
There's also some appropriate sound effects which add to the atmosphere.
Overall, this game is a perfect execution. Simple rules, ingeniously used to produce devious puzzles of apparent simplicity, and a no-frills interface that gets the job done flawlessly.
Well done Pyrosphere!
Update 2 March 2013: version 2.1 has been released with new features.
©2013 Nicola Salmoria. Unauthorized use and/or duplication without express and written permission is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicola Salmoria and nontrivialgames.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The changes seem to have propelled Lazors to the top spots in the charts all over the world. At the time of writing, it's #2 in the US in the Free Apps chart, which is no small feat.
When these things happen, one thinks that there is still hope for humanity. Or for puzzle game developers, at least.
The goal of the game is to deflect a laser beam so that it passes across one or more specific points.This is an idea that has been used multiple times in the past, but usually in this kind of games one starts with an empty grid and needs to add and rotate mirrors or prisms. In Lazors, instead, the grid is already populated with square blocks, which need to be moved around. Blocks may be moved in any free cell of the grid (i.e. this is not a sliding blocks puzzle).
There are a few different types of blocks:
Normal blocks, which reflect the beam at a 90 degrees angle:
The great thing about these puzzles is that the play area is often quite small (4x4 is a common size), but the solution isn't necessarily easy to find, and might require many reflections in a small space.
The game contains 120 puzzles, split into packs of 10. All packs are accessible from the start, but the puzzles in a pack must be completed in order. This is where buying hints might be useful; also note that when you complete a pack you get some extra hints for free.
Each pack has a theme, e.g. "Braid" features two intersecting lasers instead of one, "Tiny" has particularly small grids, "Darkroom" uses dark blocks, and so on.
In terms of logical reasoning, I found that using logic helps, but often times I reached the solution just by accident. The limited size of the boards means that there are often not that many possible positions of the blocks, so one can reach the solution even by random tinkering. This should make the game appealing to casual players that are just looking for a quick distraction and are not interested in deep thinking.
Graphics are simple, clear, and very well done. I love the transparency effect on the glass blocks.
There's also some appropriate sound effects which add to the atmosphere.
Overall, this game is a perfect execution. Simple rules, ingeniously used to produce devious puzzles of apparent simplicity, and a no-frills interface that gets the job done flawlessly.
Well done Pyrosphere!
Update 2 March 2013: version 2.1 has been released with new features.
Summary
| Nontrivialness | ★★★★☆ |
| Logical Reasoning | ★★★☆☆ |
| User Interface | ★★★★☆ |
| Presentation | ★★★★☆ |
| Loading Time | ★★★★★ |
| Saves Partial Progress | ✘ |
| Status Bar | ✘ |
©2013 Nicola Salmoria. Unauthorized use and/or duplication without express and written permission is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicola Salmoria and nontrivialgames.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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