Seconds to Square

Platformers always go great with puzzles, especially if the puzzles in question are designed to take advantage of neat gameplay mechanics or an interesting physics engine. There are plenty of games that get things right in this regard, but there are also many failures that do not manage to provide you with a compelling set of gameplay mechanics.

Seconds to Square is a puzzle-platformer that doesn’t look like much at first, but it’s actually a very unique game that uses neat mechanics to provide you with a good time. Hence, even if the goal is the same as in every other platformer out there, which is to get to the end of each level as quickly as possible, the way you navigate them is very intriguing, since you have to draw special squares on the screen.

The squares allow you to speed up time or make you invulnerable, and you can only draw one of each at a time. You have to make good use of them in order to perform otherwise impossible jumps, as well as to avoid nasty traps that can kill you in an instant. In essence, the whole game is still about quick, successive jumps, but the added puzzles make for a much more enjoyable experience.

Although you can draw every square manually and make it as wide/tall as you want, sometimes you need one quickly, and it takes too long to draw by hand. Thankfully, the game allows you to spawn one by simply clicking on the desired spot, although its size is significantly smaller, so you really have to coordinate your moves carefully in order to make use of its properties.

As far as the graphics are concerned, everything looks about as basic as you would expect from a free-to-play platformer, but the game is definitely not ugly. The backgrounds are actually very detailed and colorful, even if the level tend to become repetitive every now and again. The soundtrack is not bad either, although it probably won’t win any awards.

In the end, Seconds to Square has some interesting ideas going, but it’s a tad too short and simple for most platformer veterans. Even so, it can easily help you lose a few hours, especially if you are aiming for the high scores.