Ice Crystal

There are only so many things one can innovate about the match-three genre, but we are still a long way to go until all the ideas have been tried. However, that’s not to say that we are constantly receiving original content, because most developers prefer to borrow the concepts from other games. Even so, they can be tweaked and modified to provide the players with a new experience.

Ice Crystal is a match-three game in which you have to solve levels by turning every tile to a different color. In order to do so, you have to perform a match on top of every tile, which obviously takes time and patience. On the other hand, it’s quite entertaining to search for solutions and put your mind to work when nothing seems to be going as it should.

There are multiple game modes to choose from, depending on whether you want to solve multiple types of missions or just clear every level by making matches across the board. It can even feel like a quest sometimes, although the story is pretty straightforward and unimpressive. Thankfully, at least there are enough levels to keep you busy for a while.

Unlike in most match-three games, you can move each row and column as you see fit, although you can only drag one gem at a time. The movement is only valid if you make a match at the end of the motion, but it doesn’t matter whether you match the gem you clicked on or another one from the row or column in question. Thus, there are many possible moves, which might cause a bit of frustration sometimes.

As for the graphics, they are certainly colorful and smooth, but they are designed to work on a wide range of devices, so quality is not something you should expect. It’s not too much of a problem, on the other hand, especially if you are absorbed by the action. You might want to turn off the music, however, because it tends to get on your nerves after a few minutes.

In the end, Ice Crystal has some pretty interesting gameplay mechanics, although they are not necessarily good. Even so, it can occupy your time if you’ve got nothing better to do and you enjoy casual games of the match-three variety.