Can of Wormholes

really quite shocked at how well received this hint system is? the mini puzzles are designed to be incredibly simple, so you dont just get lost like in the main puzzle. it lays out very very simply the core mechanic of the puzzle. but, in this game, the core mechanics ARE the puzzles, because every puzzle in the game is designed around figuring out a very tight and smart concept. i found myself using hints, immediately understanding what the game was showing me, and then immediately being able to solve the puzzle, completely cheating me of doing it myself. youre given a smaller version of the puzzle where you can only do ONE thing so its painfully obvious. i think these mechanics couldve been introduced much slower and clearer. theyre brilliant and incredibly clever, but i think the game suffers from the complexity of each one and how constant theyre thrown at you. a developer in a reddit thread said 'some other players will have put the pieces together on their own, and I believe that diluting their experience with the extra puzzle will be unsatisfying for the player', as a reason why they didnt introduce simple puzzles slower. i couldnt actually disagree with this more. i dont think theres much more satisfying than thinking 'hmm i wonder if this would be possible later', then having a simple puzzle for that later that IMMEDIATELY rewards you for your earlier cleverness in a completely different puzzle you did an hour ago. i experienced this a few times with this game and it was great. the developer justified it further by saying they 'wanted a way of padding the game with extra levels only where they would be beneficial to the player. Gain insight (the hint system) was one attempt at doing that.' i disagree with this more, because as said previously i dont think this is a satisfying hint system, and i think it spells it out way too clear. theres an illusion that it does, because sure, you technically get to solve the core mechanic by yourself. it just makes it painfully, painfully clear what that core mechanic is in these mini puzzles, so clear that it doesnt feel rewarding at all, and it doesnt feel like youve had to use your intelligence in anyway. so yeah when i was smart and figured stuff out earlier than they were shown my intelligence was never rewarded, then when i wasnt so smart i was forced into hints because of the complexity each mechanic is introduced with. i can still appreciate how incredibly smart these puzzles are, some are easily up there with ssr and honestly some of the best puzzles ive ever seen, but im going to struggle to continue playing a game where every puzzle is constantly showing a new mechanic (ssr did this but much slower and smoother imo), with an all too tempting hint system i personally find extremely unrewarding.