the developer's previous game, [b]rowrow[/b], had a good concept, but it was executed horribly ([url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dohi64/recommended/1001200/]my review[/url] has details), and this also started out pretty broken, but after a few patches it's mostly good now, except the sound of undo is sometimes a lot louder than at other times, and there's no way to turn off the 3d-glasses-required effect on the border of the screen that makes your eyes bleed after a few seconds. and it'd be good to have a settings button in the main menu instead of hiding it in the corner of the credits screen, though pressing esc works too.
this time we're rotating hexagons to power or unpower them and ultimately electrify everything. the graphics are great (save for the 3d thing), the ui is good, though the screen is a bit busy sometimes, the audio is non-intrusive (save for the undo noise that can scare the pants off you), and the 150 levels will keep you occupied for a long time. there are separate volume sliders, windowed mode, resolution options, and simple controls: left and right click rotates hexes clockwise or counter-clockwise.
after about the halfway point there's nothing new to see, no new mechanics, just combinations of previous stuff, and levels getting bigger and/or more difficult for the most part, though difficulty is kind of rollercoastery instead of a steady increase. some of the mechanics are finicky and make levels really tedious, like anchors that only work when the hex is charged but not overcharged with too many connections, or gears that move every hex with the same mark simultaneously, properly charged or non-electric ones anyway. it's like having to move multiple characters in a sliding game, for example, and I hate it, but it's more of a personal issue.
there's no timer, fortunately, but there's a move limit, and the local equivalent of a 3-star rating system is energy based on your performance. there are 13 level sets to unlock, mostly with 12 levels each, and you can play them in any order within a set, which is great. no need to 3-star everything either, there's plenty of energy for unlocking everything, but most of the time you can go well below the 3-star limit anyway. the 10 undos per level were worrying at first, but you probably won't need them for most levels at all. towards the end they will prove very valuable though.
speaking of the end, the final level set of 6 levels really brought my excitement down. there were frustrating levels earlier as well, even entire level packs, but the last few levels are simply too much. less would've been more and the game could've ended on a higher note instead of 'let's just get this finally over with, where's a damn guide?' - or 'finally, some real challenge!' for others, I guess.
with most technical issues fixed, I can easily recommend the game, it's priced reasonably, well-presented, plenty of content, just note the difficulty/frustration/tedium towards the end. and if you want all the achievements, be prepared to abuse your mouse to no end until you get 1000 (that's one thousand) rotations on a level, in a game where completing them in as few moves as possible is the main thing.
