Never have I quite played an iOS game that is as elegant and unique as 'Blek' is and, amongst all of the faceless, duplicate puzzle games that swarm Google Play and the App store, this intuitive brainteaser stands out vividly.
Developer: Denis Mikan
Release date: December 3rd 2013 (iOS), June 30th 2014 (Android)
Genre: Puzzle
Platforms: iOS and Android
The game is excessively simplistic and takes full advantage of touchscreen technology where the aim is to draw lines that hit all of the circles on the screen. It sounds a lot easier than it is as each time you draw a line it will repeat on itself, over and over again until either all of the circles are collected, it bangs into dangerous black spots or wanders off the edge of the screen. The way in which the line comes to life is quite an intriguing thing as the way in which you draw it dictates the way it will move once you’ve finished drawing it. Draw arches as though tracking the path of a bouncing ball and the line will follow this track as though actually bouncing itself.
The difficulty level of the game goes through several phases as, at first, it’s quite an unusual concept to adjust to but after just a few levels you’ll think yourself an expert at it. It’s not until you get about midday through the game, there’s 60 levels overall, where you’ll start really struggling with some very tricky and often frustrating puzzles. Not only is the gameplay and premise very enjoyable but the game itself oozes personality in its sleek, stylish graphics and dreamlike music. It’s for the best that the music is so calming as, when you’re forced to think outside the box in an abstract manner, there will be times where you’ll be too frustrated to continue playing for much longer. The game is best in short bursts and is very easy to dip in and out of as the levels often take very little time and, overall, the entire 60 levels won’t take you much longer than a couple of hours to complete. Due to the various ways a level can be solved however there is some degree of re-playability and, besides, 'Blek' is such a likeable, attractive game that it’s nice to return to even after completing it.
Currently there is some concern with the way the game has been ported onto Android phones as there’s no clear way of how to exit the game and, upon pressing the back button, you’ll be taken back a level and not to the home screen. A lot of users have also reported crashing which is such a shame as the game is truly elegant and quite beautiful.
The Good:
- Imaginative game that encourages thinking outside the box
- Addictive and time consuming
- Challenging but rewarding
- Lovely music, beautiful graphical style, very elegant
- Innovative gameplay stands out from the crowd
- Some control issues with buttons and menus
- Very short lived and will not take long to complete
- Difficulty curve becomes quite steep mid-game
- No S-Pen support for Android users
Final Thoughts: "Finally, an iOS puzzle game that actually makes you think about you next move."
