I don't normally play puzzle games since I find them uninteresting, repetitive, and (eventually) too difficult but not in an interesting way (even if it is in an interesting way, typically too difficult to bother with).
This game doesn't struggle with that, though. I've beaten almost the entire game (though you could say I already beat it technically). Each level feels very distinct. The gimmick is extremely unique but also super intuitive and versatile. It is amazing how many different levels the game manages to have without it ever feeling like solutions repeat. Each level almost feels like its own little game, thanks to how much potential the gimmick offers.
The game really understands how much potential the gimmick has. It goes really far with it. And it does get pretty difficult (from pretty early on, honestly), but in a way that doesn't make me feel like I'm completely stuck and the only way I could beat the level is through trial and error or having a very specific mental skill.
So many puzzle games feel like they're just spatial management. No matter how cool their mechanics seem, the puzzles just boil down to "You gotta push this thing over here first, then this, then this, and yay you made a path without getting blocked!!"
This game doesn't, though. It does have some of that, but only in small doses; the overall solutions for levels require something that feels creative, not just something that feels like "oh so that's the order that makes it work I guess..."
For me, a good puzzle is one where if you get stuck, when you read the solution you'll go "ooooh I see, that makes sense!" It feels like you could've (at least hypothetically) gotten that if you thought about it enough (not with trial and error/mental mapping). Spatial management puzzles don't do that for me, but this game's puzzles do (mostly). Which, yeah, I've looked up the solutions to a couple of them, but I'm usually still satisfied in those cases because, ya know, I get to see a solution that's actually cool and interesting.
This kinda turned into me just ranting about why I don't enjoy most puzzle games and how this one is not that, but yeah, it's super good and interesting. Even if you aren't great at puzzles and will end up looking a lot of answers up, I recommend trying it out.
Also, I like the visuals.
This game doesn't struggle with that, though. I've beaten almost the entire game (though you could say I already beat it technically). Each level feels very distinct. The gimmick is extremely unique but also super intuitive and versatile. It is amazing how many different levels the game manages to have without it ever feeling like solutions repeat. Each level almost feels like its own little game, thanks to how much potential the gimmick offers.
The game really understands how much potential the gimmick has. It goes really far with it. And it does get pretty difficult (from pretty early on, honestly), but in a way that doesn't make me feel like I'm completely stuck and the only way I could beat the level is through trial and error or having a very specific mental skill.
So many puzzle games feel like they're just spatial management. No matter how cool their mechanics seem, the puzzles just boil down to "You gotta push this thing over here first, then this, then this, and yay you made a path without getting blocked!!"
This game doesn't, though. It does have some of that, but only in small doses; the overall solutions for levels require something that feels creative, not just something that feels like "oh so that's the order that makes it work I guess..."
For me, a good puzzle is one where if you get stuck, when you read the solution you'll go "ooooh I see, that makes sense!" It feels like you could've (at least hypothetically) gotten that if you thought about it enough (not with trial and error/mental mapping). Spatial management puzzles don't do that for me, but this game's puzzles do (mostly). Which, yeah, I've looked up the solutions to a couple of them, but I'm usually still satisfied in those cases because, ya know, I get to see a solution that's actually cool and interesting.
This kinda turned into me just ranting about why I don't enjoy most puzzle games and how this one is not that, but yeah, it's super good and interesting. Even if you aren't great at puzzles and will end up looking a lot of answers up, I recommend trying it out.
Also, I like the visuals.