Ikue Review

Simple to learn yet tricky to master is the mantra for the best puzzle games out there, and Ikue certainly lives up to that. It's a tile-based puzzle game that requires players to fill in all the gaps with the pieces they have spare. It starts out fairly easy but soon becomes pretty taxing.

It's a great game to dip into every now and then, given that while there's a slightly strange story tied into things the focus is very much on the puzzles. These puzzles frequently don't take long to solve, assuming one knows the answer. I found myself spending ages on one, then it suddenly taking seconds to click, before moving onto another one. Lateral thinking and experimentation is key here, and each progression is satisfying.

A little like Tetris, each piece is a different shape so different methods are needed to fill in the gaps. Similarly, the box that shapes must be squeezed into will also change, adding to the complexities. 50 story based levels and 50 starter pack levels come with the free app, with more available via in-app purchases. It's also possible to buy tile breaker bonuses that can be used to simplify things, but they're never essential to completing the levels. Elsewhere it's possible to rotate as well as mirror tiles to get a different effect, with some options initially seeming overwhelming yet inevitably proving to be quite intuitive.

The only significant issue with Ikue is its slightly confusing tutorial, focusing on elements that aren't needed for a while to come. But practice makes perfect here, circumventing any major issue. As an ideal puzzle game to achieve something in a brief period of time, Ikue scratches that spot well.