[b]akhra: the treasures[/b] is a mostly sliding kind of match-3 from 2011, move rows or columns until matches are created. the core gameplay is very similar to the dev's own [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dohi64/recommended/2285860]engineering[/url] from 2009, which was very basic and lackluster, but there's a lot more to this one.
it's honestly [b]one of the most complex 'basic' match-3s I've seen[/b], possibly even a bit overcomplicated. the extensive, 24-page [b]in-game help[/b] explains it all and there are tooltips for most things, but I'll summarize important stuff as well. there's a story too, cutscenes, flavor text before levels, involves a professor and treasures and whatnot, it's a whole thing.
[b]timed and relaxed modes[/b] to choose from at the beginning, can be changed anytime, and there are technically 10 of what the game calls levels but each has several stages, so [b]109 levels altogether[/b]. one is a bonus is each but the last map, can't use power-ups there but rewards are plentiful. there's even an ominous cutscene and music to go with them, pretty cool. to access more locations, gotta find map pieces on the levels, a mini hidden object side-goal if you will, then a mini jigsaw situation. there's a radar to help with the former, the jigsaw can be skipped and [b]mid-level progress gets saved if you quit[/b].
the [b]map[/b] doesn't only show your progress but also the [b]different matching mechanics[/b] allowed on each stage. as I said, it's [b]mostly sliding but there's swapping, chain-based[/b] (draw a line over all the connected tiles of the same color) and [b]rotation-based[/b] (2x2 area, lmb/rmb rotates in opposite directions). and while straight lines are the only allowed shapes in general, a few places allow whatever else, like an 'L', as long as the tiles are next to each other, or pretty much anything in chain mode. diagonals are frowned upon everywhere though.
creating matches is necessary to achieve various goals. destroy tiles behind the gears is self-explanatory, bolts appear on gears randomly, gotta match a ton of those too. resources are represented by different colors and in untimed mode you can technically postpone certain goals in favor of hoarding more, but [b]levels are replayable[/b] anyway. bonus levels too, but the big reward is only handed out once, as I learned to my cost. there's a [b]hint and shuffle[/b] button, limited amounts but they reset between levels and with no valid moves a free shuffle is granted.
the [b]workshop[/b], now that's a place of many wonders. first of all, that's where you can [b]create, upgrade and buy power-ups from resources collected on levels[/b]. they can be upgraded to be more efficient, but only 2 kinds can be brought to the levels at a time, at least initially, and they are consumable, so gotta keep buying them for a small amount of resources. they also have a [b]real-time cooldown between uses[/b], always a bummer, even more so if you're playing a timed game, which I wasn't.
there are 6 helpers, the usual stuff to assist with destruction. only 2 are unlocked at the beginning and they all need [b]skills[/b], can't make a hammer or lightning without smithing, etc. skills can be unlocked by completing various tasks on the levels in one go, but first you need to have a certain [b]rank[/b] for each, based on the number of completed levels and not to be confused with the fluff 'rating' on the [b]statistics[/b] screen. told you it was a bit convoluted.
[b]many more bonuses[/b] can be created in the workshop. most of what's not available at the start unlocks at once relatively early on, was a bit disappointing, the mystery gone. no additional fees besides making them once and upgrading them twice, then often gotta do all sorts of tricks to summon them while playing. e.g. the score multiplier needs 2 yellow matches in quick succession, then of course use the multiplier in a match too. the dynamite needs yellow matches, and so on.
the [b]cavern[/b] is a great place to gather more resources, ideally with the pickaxe, not the hammer. check in after every level or so for a bit of a top-up. [b]it'd be even more ideal if the mouse button could be held instead of all the clicking.[/b] once available, [b]the cube of transformation[/b] lets you transform one resource into another, losing some of it in the process. it's great because I found the yellow material the most problematic at the start, needed everywhere and I had plenty of the rest but never enough of that without extra farming I wasn't willing to do, so I just converted what I had a surplus of.
and this is still not all. [b]9 replayable mini-games[/b] are also part of the package, unlocked by going through the game. they can be played 3-7 times (or 22 if it's mahjong) with increasing difficulty and rewards, so it's worth doing. then you get a trophy and can continue playing, but it resets the star rating, so the next time will be the lowest difficulty with the weakest rewards and you'll get the first star again (the trophy remains), and so on. the store page claims they're unique but they're uniquely-named at best. some more arcade than puzzle, besides mahjong there's jigsaw, simon says, etc.
controls are mouse-based with a few hotkeys. the presentation is nice all around, but of course widescreen resolutions are a recent invention, can't expect a game from 2011 to support them (my ass). settings are the usual, also available while playing: separate volumes, game cursor, windowed mode with a smaller (800x600) non-resizable window. and of course separate player profiles.
I'm sure all of this sounds intimidating, I certainly wasn't expecting this many layers, but [b]it's great fun for at least 15 hours[/b] and really just a basic match-3 at its core, don't need a degree to figure it out. [b]the final 20-25 levels drag even with maxed out everything[/b] because gear goals are way too high and they're all triple-protected. even spamming power-ups doesn't make much shorter work of them but by then you're swimming in resources, so no need to farm more.
at the end of my playthrough the final puzzle was broken and the game couldn't be finished properly. I had to alt+f4 after doing the really long last level, nothing else worked, then next time was greeted with a trophy for completing the game. I wasn't particularly invested in the story and was told it doesn't happen every time, not much of a consolation. maybe nobody has ever finished the game or just didn't tell the developer about the bug until now. either way, the game got patched and the final puzzle works now, so it's [b]easily recommendable[/b].
