Joining Hands 2

With so many games asking you to bash heads, shoot torsos, and kick shins, isn't it a relief to find a game that just wants you to hold hands?

Following on from 2011's thoroughly entertaining Joining Hands comes this equally sweet-natured puzzler sequel from 10tons.

So is this second bout of hand-holding a sweaty grip or a comfortable clasp?

As before, the idea is to realign a bunch of anthropomorphic peas, the Peablins, so that they can all join hands.

Leave any hands unclasped and your Peablins will be deeply unhappy, as evidenced by their widdle grumpy scowls. Yes, I said widdle. It just seemed appropriate.

These Peablins have a varying number of hands to take into consideration, which can lead to a complex network of interconnected green blobs. Fortunately, you have unlimited time and infinite hints (subject to a brief cooldown timer) to ease the strain.

While this gentleness can be seen as one of the game's key strengths, especially for younger gamers, it also encourages the kind of mindless trial and error that's incredibly difficult to ignore.

The more elaborate puzzles were too fiddly and abstract to map out in my puny mind, so I found myself resorting to thoughtless experimentation a little too much. The game didn't do anything to dissuade me from this path.

Joining Hands 2 manages to keep your interest ticking over through the steadily evolving cast of Peablins, all with their own unique abilities. Some need to be near rocks, some are old and static, while others need to be manually rotated.

These add a welcome pinch of flavour to proceedings. It's also worth noting how attractive and peaceful your average game of Joining Hands 2 is. This is proper zen gaming.

It's just a shame that the relaxed system at its core fails to completely engage or encourage bright solutions from older or less patient gamers.