Diamond Rain

It’s difficult to praise match-three games as being revolutionary or a step forward for the video games industry, but the truth is that they have the power to make millions of dollars for the creators. However, as simple as they appear at first sight, it’s actually quite a lot of work to develop an addictive match-3 flick, especially now when there are thousands of them out there.

Diamond Rain is a very basic match-three game, with no new mechanics to attract the veterans of the genre and barely enough variety to keep a newcomer busy for a few minutes. It’s obvious from the first level that there is nothing new under the sun, especially not when it comes to the gameplay. Moreover, things do not change along the way, so it takes a lot of will to keep going.

The goal of each level is to get a certain amount of diamonds, either blue or red. The said diamonds descend from the top at an even pace, although you have the option to change the speed of the game if you find it too disorienting. You can only make matches once the gems reach the bottom, but there’s usually not enough time to analyze them before the board starts to fill to the brim.

The controls are the worst part of the game, on the other hand, because they are obviously designed to work on a touchscreen. You have to click and hold in order to pass over the desired gems, but the motion is very imprecise with a mouse and it doesn’t always work as intended. Since you are constantly fighting against time, this becomes quite frustrating after a while.

Lastly, the graphics are pretty decent, but don’t expect anything too grand in this regard either. The diamonds only come in a handful of varieties, depending on the location of the level, but it’s not enough to prevent boredom. Moreover, there are no interesting power-ups or special effects when you score combos, so it’s difficult to stay excited for too long.

In the end, there are very few reasons to give Diamond Rain a try, especially if you are a veteran of the genre and you are used to more complex games. However, it can still be a decent experience for a few minutes at a time if you’ve got nothing better to do.