Puzzle fans know that the lifecycle of a puzzle game can sometimes be short, unlike match-3s with hundreds of auto-generated levels or RPGs with robust weekly events. If you’re a master solver, you are likely mining the app stores multiple …
Puzzle fans know that the lifecycle of a puzzle game can sometimes be short, unlike match-3s with hundreds of auto-generated levels or RPGs with robust weekly events. If you’re a master solver, you are likely mining the app stores multiple times a week looking for a new challenge. The next time you’re in search of a mobile brain teaser, we recommend you try Klocki, a popular new puzzler which recently climbed the charts.
Klocki begins as a minimalist offering, with no tutorial, no menus and no explanations on how to proceed. Players are presented with a few tiles with broken lines atop them, and tapping will move the tiles. Once two line segments are connected and complete, they will illuminate; when all sections of the puzzle are illuminated, the image will zoom slightly to notify you’ve finished the level. Tapping will bring up the next puzzle and you’re left to figure out the mechanics.
Though there aren’t any instructions, with each new mechanic, you’re given a simplified puzzle to teach you how exactly to move, swipe, dial or tap your way to success. There aren’t any hints outside of the unique limitations of each puzzle component, but you’ll catch on quickly to each type of mechanic.
Puzzle fans will surely enjoy Klocki for several reasons. The game has no stressors, no time limits or move counts. It’s a relaxed, play-at-your-own-pace experience that will take up as much time as you want to give to it. It’s a reasonably priced premium game, so you also won’t face any in-app purchases or energy systems.
The diversity of mechanics is truly impressive. With each new reveal and the subsequent combinations of previous mechanics, the puzzles become more complex, showcasing the ingenuity of the design. As you progress through the levels, you must learn the unique physics and rules of each component and put them together to solve the puzzle.
Perhaps the best part of the game is that there isn’t needless repetition of mechanics. Once you’ve learned how to do something, you’ll enjoy some additional complication or limitation which will push your problem solving further. It’s the type of game that makes you feel more clever as you play, with notably satisfying “a-ha” moments throughout.
Because there is often more than one way to complete a puzzle, there is some replay value to the game. However, finding those best levels to replay is challenging without a main menu because you would need to tap back through the levels one at a time. Without that menu it is also difficult to know where you are in the game. I’m currently stuck on a level and have no idea how far I’ve gone, how much further I have to go, or how I’d even describe where I was to try to get help. I was quite sure I had solved this particular level, but with no illuminated tiles, I’m left to keep pushing things around aimlessly or just give up without knowing how much more I have to do. This lack of guiding information could be certainly frustrating to certain types of gamers.
Klocki is a great addition to the puzzle roster for those who love learning to utilize combinations of unusual mechanics or for those who enjoy complexity hidden within simplicity. Or is it simplicity hidden within complexity? Either way, you’ll have plenty of time to figure it out.
