Game Reviews

Puzzix

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Puzzix
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Lego is fun for a number of reasons, but at the heart of them all lies the simple joy of connecting things together.

We've all idly sat there building solid, towering structures for no other reasons than that it felt good.

Well, I have anyway.

Puzzix makes a puzzle game out of that desire to slot stuff together, but it doesn't really go beyond that initially satisfying mechanic.

The shape of things to come

Abstract shapes drop from the top of the screen in a constant cascade and fall off the bottom without penalty.

A close look reveals that each of these shapes has been carved out of a simple square, and that they've been designed to slot together, top and bottom.

It's up to you to pick out the shapes that will fit into those that have materialised and settled on the bottom of the game grid. Touch on this ghostly outline, and it'll materialise and drop into place.

Connect three of these shapes in this way, and they'll disappear. Clear all of the blocks from all of the rows (between one and five) to move to the next level.

Simple. Satisfying.

Pattern of play

Of course there are embellishments beyond the aforementioned increase in row number.

Occasionally you'll encounter solid blocks that won't shift through standard means. This is where you need to pick out patterned shapes and form them into a match.

Depending on the pattern, these shapes will leave behind a bomb of some kind, which will wipe out surrounding solid blocks and unmatched shapes.

Then there's the two minute timer, which supplies a sense of forward momentum without especially rushing or harrying you (not for a while at least).

Endlessly puzzling

Indeed, there's a critical lack of urgency and purpose to Puzzix's gameplay. It's like the developer came up with a sound idea and worked out a pleasingly tactile control system, and thought that was enough.

As you pass the level 20 mark, the feeling of repetition and pointlessness starts to kick in. What am I doing? Is this going to develop any further? What shall I have for dinner tonight?

This lack of drive and ongoing development pretty much kills Puzzix as an ongoing concern. It's a nice idea, and fun in small doses, but the developer needs to stop focusing on how fun it is to slot these pieces together and move on to considering what they might be building to.

Puzzix

A nicely constructed puzzler all about slotting shapes together, but once you've clicked with the core concept it doesn't really go anywhere
Score
Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.