Elzzup

[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 - Seriously Flawed ★★☆☆☆[/h1] [h1]First Impressions[/h1] I'm familiar with Elzzup (EZ) because I've played the game before on a website, or so I thought until after checking out the Discussion boards. Although it's practically the same puzzle game, it isn't made by the same team that made Unpuzzle. This is a matter I'll return to later on, but I have to wonder about the ethical, or even possible legal repercussions, behind this title. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Each level of EZ looks like a completed jigsaw puzzle, with the pieces interlocked with each other. The objective is to find pieces that can be removed from the board, opening up more pieces that can be taken away, until you've swept the board clean. At first, it'll be as simple as finding pieces that are either completely blank or only interlock with one other piece, meaning it can be pulled away. Over time though, the complexity increases, as there may only be one piece you can remove at any given time. Sorting out that correct piece can take some work, but will start unraveling the rest of the board. Throughout the tutorial level packs, new mechanics will intermittently be introduced, such as exploding pieces, symbols, and ties that connect pieces together. Using a simple level to demonstrate how these new mechanics work, the game lets you play a level or two clearing these pieces before mixing them in with the other kinds. Typically, it isn't any single mechanic that's too difficult to figure out, but it can get complicated when there's layers to work through. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3055008928 [h1]Controls[/h1] In my own mind, I think of removing the puzzle pieces as flicking them away from the board instead of carefully pulling them off. Because of that, when it doesn't snap the way I expect, it slightly perturbs me. More often than not though, it responded well to my mouse controls, and went the direction I intended. [h1]Story[/h1] There's no story elements present in this game. With the puzzle mechanics in mind, coming up with something would be pretty convoluted, so I can see why the developers wouldn't have bothered. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3055008559 [h1]Visuals[/h1] Considering how basic the game is, I'm surprised that the images didn't look more smooth and crisp when I booted EZ up. I thought that the font and pictures looked somewhat rough, and almost out of focus, for some reason. Additionally, when I tried changing the options so it wouldn't be full-screen, it didn't resize to fit my monitor properly. There weren't any other choices that seemingly would make any difference, so you're stuck with the game's lackluster visuals. [h1]Sound Design[/h1] Although there's music, the default settings have the volume set too low to hear it well. After readjusting it, I was better able to enjoy the music that plays. I believe there's a couple of songs that play continuously, as I never noticed a substantial change in the tempo, tone, or rhythm during the same gaming session. It suffices for background tunes while you play a puzzle game, as it's not too distracting, but I think more could have been done. Why not set up a unique track for each level pack? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3055009167 [h1]Pros[/h1] 🌟 The boards could have been made overly large and frustrating, as a way to increase the difficulty. Thankfully, none of them get too out of hand. 🌟 With all the mechanics available, it helps change up the puzzles without becoming too predictable. [h1]Cons[/h1] ❌ The red herring level pack is a pain in the neck because it's the same gimmick over and over again. Just call it the arrows level pack, as it's almost the only special piece that was used. ❌ You can't save your progress in a stage partway through clearing it. I fail to see why that wasn't an included feature. ❌ Difficulty can fluctuate in odd places, as I found some of the tutorial stages more complex than the full levels. [h1]Tips[/h1] 🔍 Often, there's a couple of edge pieces that you can remove without much hassle. However, at times you'll need to start by moving or adjusting pieces in the middle and using explosive ones to make some space. 🔍 There's no penalty for checking whether a piece can be removed, and it's sometimes helpful to find out what's preventing a move you think should be available. [h1]Final Thoughts[/h1] Considering the volume of games that exist nowadays, it's not odd to find titles that are obviously inspired by earlier works. However, even if there's similar mechanics, you still expect core aspects to change significantly, such as level layouts, the visuals, story points, and so forth. EZ is a replica of the game Unpuzzle, at least in regards to all the puzzle mechanics. I wouldn't imagine the specific board layouts are exact copies, but I didn't do a side-by-side comparison either. Coming up with the unique mechanics would have been the more difficult part though. I'm no legal expert, and examples like Sudoku bring another twist to the idea of what aspects of a puzzle game you're allowed to use freely or not. Personally, the original game is so similar to what's being offered here that I find it a rip-off. Only time will tell whether there would be any sort of dispute between the original game's developers and EZ, but I'm against using someone else's work so brazenly. Plus, after finishing the final level pack, it comes across like that was the developers' own idea, and wasn't very fruitful since it only used one mechanic. Although I technically enjoy the game because it's a copy of another's work, I recommend supporting Unpuzzle instead of EZ. [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. 💖 - EZ is healthy [/td] [/tr] [/table]