I'm not a cunning linguist, but I love word games and [b]anagrams[/b] was one I had really high hopes for. unfortunately, it came out in a pretty broken state, as is common these days, and it's [b]as much a matching game as it is a word game[/b]. in the main mode you'll spend minutes matching, followed by seconds of finding a word, and [b]the matching part could be better[/b], even though the game-breaking issues are fixed now.
there are [b]4 game modes[/b], 3 of which have to be unlocked. [u]classic[/u] is the default one with [b]950 two-part levels[/b], first some matching, then an anagram. you get a key after every 5 anagrams, which is, well, the key to unlocking the rest of the game modes and all 36 word categories here, as only the first is open at the beginning. they can be accessed in any order with a single key, each comes with 25 levels, except two towards the end with 50, and levels within have to be played one after the other. category selection is done really well, navigation arrows, tooltips with category names and instant access with a single click.
each level starts with a board of colored tiles containing halves of letters. the goal is to [b]switch adjacent tiles to create full letters of the same color[/b], filling each color meter on the left. matched letters disappear, new tiles fall from the top, possibly creating bonus matches. diagonal movement is allowed, [b]no timer or move limit[/b], and there are [b]special tiles[/b] that can be moved even if a match isn't created, locked tiles that can't be moved until matched, tiles with a clock that lock adjacent squares when the counter reaches zero, and ones that can be swapped with anything on the board to create a match. if you get stuck, [b]hints are available[/b] to show an available move, shuffle, reset countdowns and unlock tiles.
once all the meters are filled, the anagram part begins, using the letters you just matched up, so slide them left and right to find the word in the current category. up to 3 hints available, and [b]if you quit here, next time you'll start with the anagram[/b], no need to do the letter-matching again, but [b]quitting during matching won't save progress[/b].
[b]the other game modes[/b] cost 3 keys each. [u]blitz[/u] is timed and offers anagrams to solve in 60 seconds (each one resets the clock to 60, a hint takes away 10 seconds) and puzzles where you start with 10 seconds and every match adds 3 more, but the timer is capped at 10 seconds, so it's really stressful, plus the board keeps getting bigger and more difficult too. luckily, [b]anagrams don't only use categories unlocked in classic[/b] and there are [b]500 more words[/b] here, but no way to continue the run later and the anagram part can't even be paused.
[u]zen[/u] is practically endless, offers anagrams with all the classic mode words and/or the 500 bonus ones, so it's actually worth playing if you want more words to find, or only the ones that aren't in classic. I don't see the point of endless matching with 3 or more colors though, might as well make progress in classic while you're doing it. unlimited hints are available for both.
[u]free[/u] mode lets you play puzzles or anagrams separately on a difficulty setting of your choice. both use the 500-word bonus list, not that it ultimately makes much of a difference for the matching part. 3 hints are available for anagrams.
[b]the presentation is top notch[/b] with a slick minimalist design, though there's [b]too much clicking[/b] involved to keep things moving. the background music is nice and relaxing and the game has separate volume settings, windowed mode with a resizable window, dark mode, vsync, msaa settings, toggles for background animation, shaders and particle effects, 3 profiles for separate progress tracking, plus an optional tutorial and some help screens. sadly, settings aren't available while playing or at game mode selection, only in the main menu.
constant crashes got fixed, so the biggest problem now is [b]not being able to do anything while a matching animation is happening[/b]. there's probably no changing that now, but animation speed settings would alleviate the issue somewhat. another thing is the [b]lack of a 'no more moves' prompt[/b]. not granting a free shuffle is fine, but the game only brings up a retry/quit screen if you run out of both moves and hints. simply highlighting the hints section and playing a non-annoying sound would be enough to let the player know when to stop looking for something that isn't there.
it's [b]good stuff otherwise with plenty of content[/b], and levels get pretty hard with many locked tiles and such, but the whole [b]matching part can be really tedious[/b]. waiting for animations and the other half of certain letters to appear, then maneouvering them where they need to be gets old fast. [b]only recommended if you're fine with the matching aspect and its flaws[/b], at least until other game modes are unlocked. it can be done pretty fast, then you can dive into anagrams without matching if you want, but there are other games offering just that for a lower price.
