Writings of Mass Deduction

There are several puzzle games I’ve reviewed over the last 792 days of reviews, but most were 2D. Taking things into the third dimension is an obvious way to mix things up, and that’s “HACOTAMA”‘s action plan. And it works.

For 240 Microsoft Points, you get a fully 3D puzzle game that has you rolling balls and moving blocks until you solve the puzzle. The game is gorgeous, and then some. This appears to be from a Japanese developer, and was a 2011 Dream.Build.Play entrant. You play as your avatar, which is a nice touch in this case: I like non-gratuitous uses of avatars, like was done here. The game eases you into things beautifully, and ramps up the difficultly level perfectly. Well done, YO1KOMORI, well done.

Here’s what the developer (YO1KOMORI) has to say about the game:

“A true puzzle game without an action element. “Features” A mysterious virtual world where you can stand on any box or ball surface. Beautiful graphics with balls that reflect, refract and concentrate light amid colorful boxes. An entirely new experience! Thinking three-dimensionally makes this a simple but profound game.”