In Hexologic, you must assign a number to each available tile, using only 1, 2 or 3. These numbers must match up with the target number displayed along the edges of the puzzle to win the level.
This ostensibly sounds quite simple, like a Sudoku-lite, but the game goes much, much deeper the more you play.
For starters, the direction of arrows that the target number is on dictates the direction you need to match the dots. This contributes both to the complexity, and the simplicity, of the game all at once.
This is because the mathematics of Hexologic feels a bit like a Sudoku puzzle – you are matching numbers up along defined patterns, ensuring you don’t obstruct the completion of an adjacent pattern. You start to find obvious ways to decode the correct path naturally, allowing the level progression to feel organic and truly earned.
For example, when the reader displays 2, yet gives you two boxes along a defined route, it’s obvious you can do no more than place 1 dot in each box, thus giving you clues as to the rest of the puzzle. These little clues get scarcer as you progress through the levels however, requiring you to pick up the internal logic of the game quickly.
To that end, all the learning necessary for Hexologic is not written down for you, or given to you in any obvious way. Instead, you learn it through a small amount of trial and error and simplistic guiding levels. This makes the entire experience of learning how to play Hexologic simple, yet rewarding.
Everything flows from one state to the other, allowing an incredibly fluid progression of difficulty that manages to maintain a comfortable challenge throughout the game. The difficulty level feels like a gently rising, 45 degree slope, rather than the rollercoaster ride of some puzzle games.
This is reflected in the game’s ascetic, with the graphics focusing on the serenity of gently cascading water. Each time you complete a level, the puzzle collapses into one piece that forms the representation of the level along a simple path. This then merges into the next level, unfolding to reveal the puzzle within.
The entire experience of Hexologic is one of elegant complexity and serenity. The gently tinkling music, the calming yet challenging puzzles and the pleasant, almost meditational ascetic give the game a very consistent visual identity.
It is rare to experience a game so sure of itself and aware of its qualities. Hexologic knows what it wants to do; it knows you, it knows what you like and how to give it to you. What’s more, it knows that unduly frustrating you will serve no one.
Hexologic avoids frustrations, irritations or annoyances. Hexologic is calming, peaceful and endlessly enjoyable. The levels flow seamlessly, the puzzles are enjoyable and the entire experience is one of peaceful bliss.
Hexologic loves you, so you will love Hexologic.
[review pros=”Excellent progression of difficulty and challenge. Captivating ascetic that perfectly blends with the gameplay.” cons=”There is the tiniest of confusions at the very start of the game, but that immediately disappears once you play on.” score=10]
[appbox appstore id1343246862]
[appbox googleplay com.mythicowl.hexologic]
