Developer: Kieffer Bros. Price: Free
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4S
What can be said about block sliding games that hasn’t already been said? Not much, it would seem. However, if the developers of Blockwick had thought the same thing about the gameplay in block sliding games, they never would have created this gem of a game. Blockwick takes the simple block sliding game and evolves it in a way that makes perfect sense. It moves the gameplay in a new, exciting direction without alienating the aspects that made this type of puzzle game work so well in the first place.
Where in many block sliding games, the point is to move a specific block (or blocks) to a specific space or exit in each level, the point of Blockwick is to move varying numbers and types of blocks around each level so that all the matching blocks are adjacent to one another. As in other block sliding puzzle games, this is made more difficult by other blocks that are in the way and must be moved around to make room in order to maneuver the other blocks into place. In Blockwick many of the puzzles have as many solutions as there are players, and the open and unrestricted nature of the puzzle solving in this game makes it so easy for the player to enjoy the game instead of banging their head against the wall in frustration.
In Blockwick each level is so different from the last it often seems as though the game is continually reinventing itself. This isn’t a jarring shift, however, and manages to bring the player along at just the right pace to keep them engaged from puzzle to puzzle. The different block shapes that appear as the player progresses pushes them to keep thinking differently about the game board and the open space afforded to them in each level.
Blockwick takes a genre that can often become terribly rote and derivative and makes it new again. The visuals are superb and it’s easy to tell that Kieffer Bros. is really in the business of honing its craft as an app developer. It’s so easy to enjoy this puzzler and so hard to get tired of it, and as a free app it is so worth the time to download and try it out.