Puzzle Station Demo

Casual puzzle games owe mankind a great deal of wasted hours, because they have the power to distract you from everything else, with the aid of a simple set of gameplay mechanics. Tetris is a prime example of this phenomena, as is Zuma and many other such classic arcade games. No one can deny their appeal, however, which is why they are so successful nowadays as well.

At a glance, Puzzle Station is about as simple as it can get and there’s no reason to think that it can provide you with a challenge. Your view on the subject might change after a few minutes, because the game is certainly no walk in the park, especially after the first stages. In fact, some of the later levels can have you scratching your head, at least until you manage to wrap your mind around them.

The underlying principle is rather simple, however: the blocks that share the same color must be grouped with each other, but you only have a limited number of moves at your disposal. Hence, you must arrange the top blocks in such a way that, when they are dropped onto the pile, the chain reaction gets rid of every colored block in sight.

The stages are split into worlds and the switch from one world to another is quite noticeable, especially when it comes to difficulty. Frustration might kick when you happen to reach a particularly annoying stage, but the pleasant feeling you get when you figure it out is definitely worth the small inconveniences you experience along the way.

As far as the visual aspect is concerned, the game uses a 2D graphics engine to render the action, which is to be expected, considering the simple underlying concept. It does look pretty nice, on the other hand, even if it lacks depth and there are no 3D models to talk about. The colors are bright enough, on the other hand, which should make the experience that much more pleasant.

Puzzle Station may not constitute a revolution in the video games industry, but it can be the right choice sometimes, if you are on the lookout for something light and challenging. Hence, if you enjoy putting your mind to work and you do not mind the simple mechanics and the unimpressive graphics, the game is definitely worthy of a try.