[quote]A review copy was provided by the developer.[/quote]
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[h1]Overall Rating - Seriously Flawed ★★☆☆☆[/h1]
[h1]First Impressions[/h1]
When I saw the trailer and pictures for Cryptrio (CT), I was interested in this unique looking puzzle game. A number of months ago, I purchased the original Puyo Puyo Tetris, as I occasionally get the urge for an engaging puzzle title. With every piece having a unique appearance, since they represented cliché RPG monsters, my curiosity was roused on how this would impact the mechanics. Unfortunately, since there aren't more game modes to play off of this concept, it isn't as deep or engaging as I would have hoped.
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
Honestly, I keep thinking of this as a Tetris game because of the blocky shape to the pieces. However, since you clear pieces by making three of the same touch, it's closer to a Puyo game. Either way, there isn't much to say about this release. With only a single mode available, there's few factors that alter the gameplay. As pieces fall one by one, you try to find optimal places to set them around the board, so they won't reach the ceiling. If possible, setting up chains such that clearing one set will lead to other pieces coming together is a great way of racking up points. Once you've played for a few minutes, and maxed out the health of the boss, the gameplay doesn't change further until you die. New types of pieces don't spawn, there aren't any power-ups to bail you out of a pinch, and even the falling speed doesn't seem to increase beyond a certain threshold. Having tried a few rounds, this title could really benefit from other modes, to help alter the gameplay. For example, maybe a versus mode of some kind.
From what I experienced with CT, I don't have any issues with the inability to rotate pieces. The unique shapes, and maintaining the orientation of the monsters so they stay upright, makes sense to me. As long as the bosses spawn in a way that they try to avoid your most hazardous parts of the screen, I'm not too bothered by the basic mechanics in place. I think that's how they work, although I'm not entirely positive. Instead, my other complaint, besides the lack of variety, is not being able to see what piece comes next. After all, even NES Tetris shows the upcoming piece, so any purists can bite me. When the pieces can be so chunky, having no forewarning means you have a split second to decide which part of the screen it should be directed. This ignorance hurts the player's ability to respond well, and makes runs shorter than they otherwise could be.
[h1]Controls[/h1]
Considering that you don't even rotate the pieces, the only control you have over the game is moving them into place. You do have the option to instantly drop a block if it's in place, or increase its drop rate. Something that can be difficult is moving the piece left or right quickly enough. When trying to move it to the far right or left side, it'd feel a bit sluggish or delayed, even when I was mashing the input. I'm sure some of that comes from the increased speed as you progress, but I think it could be more responsive.
[h1]Story[/h1]
Despite using puzzle mechanics as a way to fight against monsters and bosses, there's no plot behind the gameplay. You just start it up, and immediately jump into the action. It'd take effort and creativity, but if the developer could establish a Story Mode, it'd add much needed content to the game.
[h1]Visuals[/h1]
Like other block-based puzzle titles, there's little to look at during a run. Aside from the bosses, the only other thing that you'll see is the menus and black background. Perhaps in part due to its simplicity, each piece does a good job of standing out with their distinct shapes and stark colors. Unless you panic or run out of space, you shouldn't have any problems mixing them up.
[h1]Sound Design[/h1]
From what I could tell, there's only a single song that plays continuously. It's not a bad tune, having a chip tunes sound to it. Admittedly though, it sounds kind of crunchy due to some of the noises used to compose the looping song. I don't think it's bad or too distracting, but if you were to stick with the game for a long time, I'd probably listen to my own music instead. There's a few sound effects from when you break blocks and damage the boss. Although they're suitable for the game, you wouldn't lose any important information if you muted CT.
[h1]Pros[/h1]
🌟 After defeating a boss, you get a slight pause in the action so you can fairly respond to the next block that drops. Plus, although it'll block a portion in the middle, pausing the screen lets you see most of the board. This can let you reflect on chains you're working on.
🌟 The different shaped blocks make for a unique challenge compared to the average Puyo style game.
[h1]Cons[/h1]
❌ Unless you find this gameplay particularly addictive, a single game mode, where your only objective is to get a high score, won't hold your attention for long.
❌ Even if you pull off a good chain, there's no visuals that acknowledge your accomplishment. That bit of pizzazz in other games is a dopamine rush.
❌ Within ten minutes or so, you've seen all there is to experience in the game.
❌ I'm on the top of the leaderboard, but can't take a screenshot of it.
[h1]Tips[/h1]
🔍 It is important to not put pieces in the wrong area, as you can easily block off crucial places on your board. One of the worst offenders is the green pancake, otherwise known as the plant, as it can cover so many spaces underneath it.
🔍 You might be tempted to focus on chains, but if there's a boss around, kill it. New bosses can spawn regardless if there's one already on the board, and they take up valuable space.
🔍 Building chains is more difficult with the distinct pieces complicating the board. However, the basic principles still apply. Have a goal in mind, and set up a trigger piece.
[h1]Final Thoughts[/h1]
From what I've seen other developers do with unique puzzle games, I think this could be further worked upon to make a more compelling experience. It has the blueprints and mechanics, but needs more content, and incentive for sticking with it. Since I can only review what already exists, I don't see much reason to acquire this release. If I really wanted a puzzle game with an endless mode meant for racking up high scores, I'd probably just stick with Tetris, as it's second nature to me. This made for an interesting distraction, but it doesn't have that wow factor that hooks me for numerous hours. Some curious people will pick this game up and give it a try, but unless you get it for a really low price, I still wouldn't recommend it. You're unlikely to get that much out of the game, unless it adds other modes that would make the overall experience more compelling.
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[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.
💖 - CT is healthy
[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
