From the guys that made the award winning ROTO, the same guys who have a love of naming their games in all caps; comes UNWYND, a simple puzzle game about joining boxes with lines. The game hits all the requirements one expects from a mobile game: accessibility, short multiple levels, easy pick up and drop sessions and a relaxing but engaging gameplay demanding use of logic.
The game is a 32MB free download from your respective mobile store app. You start the game with a very short tutorial that explains the core mechanic and it leaves you quicker than you expect. Your task is to create lines on a square grid covering all coloured boxes. Matching the colour of the line and the box creates a circle (O) in the respective box. When the line and the box have different colours the box gets a “X”. Each level asks you to get a certain no of O’s and X’s to complete it. This system allows for a lot of flexibility, there are multiple ways to finish each level based on unique patterns. The challenge starts of really simple but the requirements are much harder to get as the map gets bigger and more boxes populate the space.
The game hosts 3 map packs with the first one being free. It took me just over 15 minutes to run through the first set. The subsequent map packs cost either INR 60 ($1) each or you can unlock the full game from the main menu for INR 120 which promises future level packs as well. The free version is supported by ads and they range from small ads in the menu to full screen ads after the end of a level. I occidentally touched the full screen ads a couple of times. The only way to get rid of said ads is to buy the full game.
The game makes use of a lot of white space to lay emphasis on the colour of each box. The layout is clear with menu and reset buttons shown at all times at the bottom of the screen. The objective is always clear on the top of the screen. There is a certain joy when the screen fills up with coloured ribbons as you are about the finish a level and then watching them slide across the screen in the same direction you drew them. This little details is reward enough for completing a level and provides a satisfying end to each puzzle. While there is no background music, the sound effects are appropriate and functional.
The game felt easy throughout and was over soon but given what I saw in the last few levels of the free level pack, I suspect the more complex and interesting levels to be behind the pay-wall. I liked that every level demanded atleast a few seconds of planning and never felt like filler content. While I found the levels too easy, others in my family had a much better time with it. When my dad puts down the tv remote and gets his glasses for a level, it means business. The uniqueness of creating coloured lines across the screen and knowing that there is no fixed solution and that your answer may be different from others and still correct is liberating and encourages new solution every time.
The ads annoy but can be overlooked for good gameplay. The price is on the high side with ads only disabled with full purchase and not when you buy a map pack. The gameplay is fresh and enjoyable for the entire family and kids; it gives the brain a small workout to either charge up or cooldown. You will always find me advocating for a good logical puzzle game rather than the braindead match 3 or infinite runners.
