Kudos for the respectable monetization and ethical lack of ads. However, the game seems like it's designed to be as unsatisfying as possible. There aren't really any effects, and the 6 colors shoved into tiny levels filled with some variation of "match next to this space X times before you can use it" elements makes for a match 3 that is constantly presenting you with one or zero possible moves. The latter can be infuriating, because the auto-shuffle doesn't kick in until you've had a moment to start scanning for matches that don't even exist: others shuffle instantly. When it's shuffling multiple times per level, this can be very annoying.
The theme of "no theme at all" is boring and makes it difficult to tell which of several similar mechanics is in the level, but at least it's not another nauseating take on being a remodeler, stylist, or pastry chef.
Still, the drip feed of mechanics and the huge amount of custom levels make up for the "normal" levels usually leading to some infuriating situation where you spend 10 turns making the only possible move, which doesn't get you any closer to completing the level goal. It's a nice game if you ignore the built-in levels and hypnotize yourself into hallucinating your own juicy particle effects and animations.
This is a good game that showcases some admirable ethics and design decisions from the developer. Still, it has too many frustrating shortcomings to be a favorite. It may be the perfect game for you, and I don't think any of my criticisms are objective problems, so hopefully this review helps you whether you agree or disagree with me. I'm currently on level 200 and spent the $10 for unlimited lives, so I do like it. The best thing about it is that it's not predatory, which is both a genuine compliment and faint praise. The game is confident in being exactly what it is, and the theme is "no theme." It looks and feels more like a chess app than the pinball-like cacophony of sparkles, explosions, and fun animations typical of the genre. There's really not a lot of "juice," especially if you turn off the sound and rob yourself of the titular sound effect. And there definitely aren't meta elements: maybe a future update could include renovating the run-down abstract vector space you inherited from dear old Uncle Blue Circle. (kidding) "Anti-theme" might even be more appropriate, because every element of the game feels deliberately uninteresting. Powered-up gems ("items") are nothing flashy, differentiated only by an arrangement of dots on them. Special elements of levels are as basic as possible: there are like 4 different variations of "box with a number on it" that I've encountered. Most of the power-ups involve removing items in various shapes. One, however, shuffles the board, which brings me to my biggest frustration with this game. "Okay, so it knows what it is and isn't flashy. Sounds great, more focus on just being a good game." But the lack of theme really just makes the game's flaws more difficult to overlook. "More thoughtful instead of mindless" doesn't really apply, either: the biggest flaw is that usually, there just aren't that many decisions to make. You may see the message "no more moves, reshuffling" multiple times per attempt, if you're lucky. If you're not lucky, you're stuck making the one possible match 5 times in a row on some useless area of the board. I think this is a consequence of a few things: - Levels are small. The maximum possible is 12x12, but they're often much smaller AND littered with obstacles or unusual border shapes that seriously restrict the number of possible moves even before considering matching. - As far as I can tell, all six colors are always present on a level. Sometimes small levels can be balanced by having fewer possible colors, but that's not the case here. The level editor allows you to do this, but I haven't seen it used in the first 200 main levels. - Multi-match upgrades (eg "match 4 to get an item that clears the row") follow the classic color-specific model instead of the color-agnostic model, so making a multi-match often feels like you're saddling yourself with garbage that you can't match instead of getting a much-needed leg up. (This is a tenuous criticism: plenty of games do the same thing, but I feel like it's way worse in this game because of the "no more moves" problem.) - A large proportion of the level mechanics are in the style of "this thing uselessly takes up space until you make enough matches next to it." They're all static, too, so you can't even swap them with an adjacent item to make a match. There are bombs and guns you can set off by matching next to them, but even those also block off a possible square for matches. The net effect is that there are even fewer possible moves to make. Ultimately, I do enjoy the game as it is, but nearly every level has me wishing it was something else instead. The constant lack of possible moves makes it feel more like rolling the dice than solving a puzzle, and the lack of juicy feedback or interesting aesthetics makes that eventual win feel less like a satisfying payoff and more like checking something off of your grocery list. Still, I find myself opening it every day, just to see what's next. If I could offer any feedback on changes: - I heard a portrait mode may be coming, which would be great. - Theme options for juicier items and interactions would be appreciated. It sounds lame writing it down, but a little sparkle or wiggle goes a long way to making things feel more satisfying, which makes the frustrations less prominent. - An editor option or a set of extra levels with color-neutral bombs/lines/etc could be fun, but I worry this is veering into "make a different kind of game" feedback. - Ditto with restricting colors on cramped levels. Seeing "no more moves" five times in a round (or only being able to make pointless matches) feels very bad, and is my single biggest frustration with the the game, but I don't know how you'd address this without changing existing levels. Maybe a "casual mode" that doesn't contribute to the power-up challenges, or earn keys? - The "defend powerups from bugs" minigame feels bad because it starts you off with a trove of items that can only decrease, and mitigating losses feels worse than maximizing gains. The gun is so slow and the timer is so long that it's usually a struggle just to keep one or two powerups. Maybe some of the bugs could be carrying power-ups into the area instead, so you have the opportunity to build up your reward instead of desperately hanging on to a single crumb of what you started with. And again, I deeply appreciate the lack of ads and the one-time payment for unlimited play. Maybe that's why I keep coming back: even if it's more frustrating than the big money-makers, it feels like a game instead of an extortion scheme. Thank you for that. It would just be a lot easier to leave those games behind forever if this one borrowed some of their juicy feedback for that sweet, sweet dopamine.