The Guides Review
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The Guides Review

Our Review by Jennifer Allen on August 20th, 2015
Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: TOUGH RIDDLES
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Be challenged immensely by The Guides's series of riddles and puzzles.

Developer: Kevin Bradford LLC
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPhone 5

Graphics / Sound Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Game Controls Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
Gameplay Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar

Overall Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar

The Guides is not an easy game. Rather appropriately given the title, you’re going to feel in need of a guide to help you out, even though that would ruin the point of the game. A little like Simogo’s offerings, The Guides is all about experimenting. Such experimentations go a long way in helping you solve the increasingly fiendish riddles contained within.

There’s very little in terms of introduction to The Guides. Instead, you’re thrown in the deep end and expected to figure out what to do in order to progress. Laid out like a journal of puzzles, some might be surprisingly simple merely requiring you to follow an instruction that didn’t initially seem like an instruction. Some might just require you to tap on the relevant part of the screen. Others involve you decoding a message through following binary code and then bringing up the in-game keyboard to enter the correct response. Decoding plays quite a significant role in The Guides and also happens to be my favorite kind of puzzle.

Regardless of the puzzle type, The Guides gets under your skin. At times, you can be stuck for a very long time indeed but you’ll find yourself thinking about it outside of the game and coming back for more. Some guidance is provided via the game’s distress support system, and the ability to save screenshots for reference, but that’s not really the point. Being challenged is where The Guides is most tempting.

Don’t look at those guides. You’ll want to. That urge will grow as the days go by and you’re still stuck but that sweet sense of satisfaction when you finally crack a conundrum? It’s really quite wonderful and that alone makes The Guides’ asking price more than worth it.

iPhone Screenshots

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iPad Screenshots

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The Guides screenshot 6 The Guides screenshot 7 The Guides screenshot 8 The Guides screenshot 9 The Guides screenshot 10
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