Puzzlebeams

Puzzlebeams is a small but carefully crafted indie game that has you solving puzzles by firing lasers at balls. The game is built around a simple concept that gradually gets complicated as you play, which, for a puzzle, is always good.

Puzzlebeams only works if you take a bit of time to think things through, kind of like in Sokoban; except here, in some cases, you can move the ball backwards. The goal to each level is to place colored balls in sockets that match their color, with the use of lasers.

The lasers are triggered by the arrow keys, and they can go in every direction, depending on the level. At times, the solution is obvious but in most cases it’s a combination of moves that can get complicated. Also, you can only use lasers that go one trajectory at a time. You can switch on all the horizontal lasers, for example, but when you activate the vertical ones, the previous are turned off.

Puzzlebeams requires that you think before you act, and that stands for every level. If you make one little mistake, you might just have to restart the level. As for the puzzles themselves, at an individual level, they’re not all difficult.

After a few minutes with it, 20 or so levels in, the solutions become more intuitive. However, don’t underestimate Puzzlebeams, it does pack a few levels that have very clever solutions.

On a closing note, Puzzlebeams is a nice and relaxing puzzle game to play. It looks retro nice; the audio tune is catchy, and the puzzles are a treat,