I've gotten to the red levels, and I did both bonus maps so far, too. I'm enjoying it.
Games where you don't directly control a character usually set me on edge. That's especially true in games like this one or The Incredible Machine, in both of which you are called upon to place stuff and have no control of any kind beyond that. The stuff could go anywhere, so there are many possibilities, yet your control over what happens is still rather limited. Balance those two factors well, and you get good puzzles.
When the title screen first came up, my instinct was to click the 'Tutorial' button. There was none. I had to settle for 'New Game' instead. It turned out this game does a remarkable job of explaining itself in the first few maps. I wondered briefly how fast arrows fly and how boulders move, but these and other game element interactions proved to be self-explanatory with minimal trial and error. (To save you some trouble: Boulders move like Questy does, and arrows are not instantaneous--you often have time to duck around a corner after triggering one. Other interactions are more fun to see on your own.)
The puzzles were designed well. The harder ones have some carefully placed distractions. The concepts shown are interesting to me, especially as you get into the purple section. It seems to have been tested for alternative solutions quite well, too.
I've only found one thing that might have been unintended, but it used a factor which had not been introduced yet.
The name of the game also implies that there will be more in the future. I hope the author is careful to maintain this level of quality.
EDIT: Finished, with all bonus maps and gems. 'Who Does the Dirty Work?' and the very last room were the two that gave me the most trouble. I liked the twenty-fourth gem, too. The unintended solution I thought I found turned out to be part a gem, too.
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Penwielder's Palace,
Detention Complex,
Archipelago,
Cube of Memories
[Last edited by Penwielder at 05-10-2010 12:21 AM]
