A Life of Logic

[quote]A review copy was provided by the developer.[/quote] [quote]Follow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews,[/url] so you can be updated whenever I post a new review.[/quote] [h1]Overall Rating - Average ★★★☆☆[/h1] [h1]First Impressions[/h1] I reviewed a couple of puzzle games released by Latte Games a few months ago, so when I saw them launch another puzzle title, I was curious about it. Unfortunately, A Life of Logic (LL) had been out for a while, yet nobody had written a review for the release. That's why the developer was willing to provide me with a review key, as no attention is about the worst fate for an indie title. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Crossword puzzles aren't really my thing, but for whatever reason, grids with numbers in them satisfy me so much more. In this case, every grid is made up of a square, although the size can range from 6x6 to 12x12. Theoretically, there isn't an upper limit, but that's how big they get in LL. Every square will be filled with either a 0 or 1, although those numbers could be represented by any other symbols instead. With certain squares filled out by default, you have to figure out how the rest of the grid is set up, and there's three cardinal rules in effect. You can't repeat a number more than twice in a row, each row and column has an equal amount of both numbers, and no row or column will be the same as another. It's a fairly simple set of rules, and these create basic patterns. For instance, if you see two numbers in a row, you immediately know what has to go on either side, IE -00- would have to be 1001. Like most puzzles, an easy concept can be set up in ways that become far more complicated over time. The sole game mode is organized by difficulty, always resetting to the smallest grid, before increasing to its max size of 12x12. Each bump in challenge outlines a new focus or approach to solving these puzzles, as you'll need to consider other ways to work out the answer. Initially, the rule about no repeating rows or columns was mostly ignored, but started becoming more prominent in the third section onward. Honestly though, the difficulty could vary widely, as some puzzles stumped me for quite a while, as I blazed through other set-ups. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3220466330 [h1]Controls[/h1] Since you're merely filling each square with either a 0 or 1, the controls consist of clicking on a square enough times. Once puts in a zero, twice adds a one, and clicking again reverts it to an empty square. It feels a bit ironic that clicking twice adds a one, but aside from that minor confusion, the controls work perfectly fine. I had no qualms about using a mouse for this game. [h1]Story[/h1] The title of the game ties in with the plot. As the puzzles progress in difficulty, you follow pivotal moments in a growing boy's life, from infancy through to his twilight years. They're shown only by snapshots, instead of cutscenes or something more involved, and there's no dialogue or text for further explanation. It gets the point across, but I'm not so easily moved by highlights from a character I've such little investment in. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3220465974 [h1]Visuals[/h1] Considering how the game is a grid-based puzzle title, centered around 0's and 1's, there aren't much in the way of visuals. You can buy different appearances if you don't want to look at those numbers, but I'd hold onto those coins for the hardest parts of the game. Aside from the grid in the center of the screen, there are loosely related background images. They seemd more relevant at the beginning, but when he was highlighting moments in his career, I didn't see how the beach side pertained that much. Something I noticed is that the background with the trees partially obstructs the numbers on the edge, so the developer should have been more careful about that. Across the sole game mode, you'll see still images of events in the boy's life as he grows older. They have a smooth, but somewhat flat aesthetic to them, along with the pictures of his aging face. Except for his oldest incarnation, I didn't get much personality from this character, but he looks grumpy, and perhaps a bit eccentric, as an old man. [h1]Sound Design[/h1] From what I've noticed while playing, I believe there's at least two songs, as I heard different instruments playing as the next tune loaded. They're relaxing, low-key instrumentals that won't disrupt your attention while trying to figure out the puzzles. On that note, they aren't exactly toe-tapping, earworms, but I have nothing to complain about with the tunes here. If you use a hint, there's a sound effect that plays. Otherwise though, filling in blank squares with your answers don't make noises, which is for the best. That could be a bit annoying otherwise. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3220465178 [h1]Pros[/h1] 🌟 When I started using a hint to get past an area that I felt stuck on, it made the puzzles more pleasant to solve. I didn't have to beat my head against a wall, unable to make any progress, because I could spend some of my coins to give me a slight nudge forward. 🌟 It seemed too basic and simple at first, and I wasn't positive if every puzzle could be solved logically. After taking some breaks, and getting more used to how to figure out the squares, I appreciated the binary logic. [h1]Cons[/h1] ❌ This has never bothered me before, but the image for the game in your library, and when you're on the specific page to play it, is different. It bothers me here because it's the same image, but flipped the opposite direction. I keep thinking it looks wrong, and that's the reason. ❌ Without another game mode, you can't take a break from playing in sequential order. It'd be nice to switch from an area that's gotten tough, and chill with some easy puzzles if I want. [h1]Tips[/h1] 🔍 Since you can only progress in a sequential order, and could get stuck on a puzzle, save some coins for hints. I don't see much point in undoing a move, since no answer you input is permanent, but anybody could get stuck if they can't see the right area to focus on. 🔍 There's a couple of benefits to taking a break if you get stuck on a puzzle. You can spin the wheel for coins, which you could use to buy a hint. Additionally, that break might allow you to see clues in the grid that you were missing before. [h1]Final Thoughts[/h1] Something that could be useful in this game would be a way to make notes, as I'd figure out how a part of a row or column had to be a certain mix of the two numbers. However, unless I could cross-reference it with other information, I didn't have enough to know the correct order. For example, I'd know three blank squares had to use two 0's, and a single 1, but didn't know the right sequence. Being able to take that as a note and figure out other sections, while having that note available, might have helped me solved the puzzles. Otherwise though, I think LL has a decent premise, even if it seems stupidly easy at first. Conversely, the impossible puzzles are well-described, because I can't figure out the starting place for most of them. I tip my hat to anyone who can figure those out. This release would benefit from more game modes, a similar trend I've seen in puzzle titles lately, but it isn't a bad little time killer. I could recommend getting it on sale, if you enjoy puzzles somewhat like Sudoku. [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow our curator page: [b]IndieGems[/b] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.[/url][/quote] [table] [tr] [th]PC Specs[/th] [th]Performance[/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]Ryzen 2700 RTX 2070 16GB RAM ADATA SSD 1920x1080 [/td] [td]The game ran without incident on default settings. 💖 - LL is healthy [/td] [/tr] [/table]