Slidex

Every now and again, your brain can use a bit of a workout, just to make sure it doesn't become rigid and unable to stretch when you need it to do something important. If you are not keen on reading books or solving differential equations on your coffee break, you can at least try to tackle puzzle games. Hence, your noodle can stay in shape and lend you a helping hand if you ever stumble into a problem muscles cannot solve.

Slidex is a demanding puzzle game with a pretty simple underlying idea, but which gets frustrating relatively quickly. As such, your main purpose is to move a specific block toward the designated area, while arranging the rest of the blocks in such a way as not to get stuck. While it may look and feel quite easy in the beginning, the levels get more and more difficult as you keep advancing further into the game.

The gameplay mechanics are about as straightforward as possible, since all you have to do is drag and drop the pieces from one place to the other. However, to make things more interesting, your every move is accounted for and displayed at the bottom of the screen. There is even a target number of moves you can achieve in order to receive a medal for your efforts.

In case you are worried about running out of puzzles too soon, you can rest assured that it won’t happen for a while, unless you happen to be some kind of genius. There are more than enough levels to tackle, not to mention the fact that it can take you even longer to receive the blue medal for each one of them. Hence, frustration is much more likely to kick in than you are to finish the game too quickly.

As far as the visual aspect is concerned, the graphics are quite basic and even pixelated, although that is part of the game’s charm. The actual puzzles are as detailed as they need to be, given the fact that they are just blocks you need to click on. The soundtrack is also reminiscent of the 8-bit era, with cool tunes to keep you company throughout the levels.

All things considered, Slidex is the perfect distraction for lazy afternoons, with the added benefit of making you smarter in the process. However, if you are not the type to enjoy frustrating puzzles, you might find it difficult to keep your enthusiasm level high enough to finish the game.