Game Reviews

Euclidean Lands review - A masterful puzzle adventure

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iOS
| Euclidean Lands
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Euclidean Lands review - A masterful puzzle adventure
|
iOS
| Euclidean Lands

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Euclidean Lands blends together ideas from some of the finest games that the App Store has to offer. There are shades of Square Enix's GO titles, Monument Valley, and plenty of other classics here.

But this is no pale imitation. It throws its own bits and bobs into the mix as well, leaving you with a game that feels fresh and familiar at the same time.

It's a puzzling adventure that's presented brilliantly, and will have you scratching your head in all the right ways.

Fun cubed

The game sees you playing an adventurer with a sword and a mighty red scarf. You movement is controlled with a series of taps. The levels are grid-based, so tap the square next to you and you'll hop along to it.

The twist comes from the levels themselves. They're like Rubik's Cubes, and you can manipulate them with swipes. Essentially you need to build and rebuild your path to the level's exit.

Obviously that's easier said than done. The first few challenges ease you in to the game's ideas, but then obstacles are thrown into the mix. There are blocks you can't move past, spaces you can't get across, and guards that will kill you if you come at them from the wrong angle.

Despite the small size of the levels, there's an exploratory thrust to proceedings. You're moving things around to see where you need to go and how you need to get there.

You can take down guards if you come at them from behind, and a shield power-up lets you smash them head on as well. You'll need to take out all of the enemies before the level exit opens.

The game really looks stunning. Lightning cracks through the sky, water falls from culverts in strange directions, and your scarf whips in some unseen wind.

The whole thing makes you feel like you're in a specific place, and that's an impressive achievement for a game taking place on such a small screen.

But the ideas here are as vibrant as the art style, and you'll want to push on through the puzzling challenges to find out what the game is going to throw at you next.

You're twisting my melon

There's a satisfying crunch to everything that Euclidean Lands does, and a solidity to the game that makes twisting the sharply angled worlds around feel surprisingly tactile.

And that surprise runs through almost every aspect of Euclidean Lands. It's always got something new to show you, and it's not afraid to shift the ground under your feet, sometimes literally, to make the experience more entertaining.

Euclidean Lands review - A masterful puzzle adventure

A bright and brave puzzling adventure that takes ideas from the best while still adding its own
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.