[b]lily's epic quest[/b] sees a little girl going underground to find all sorts of treasure, using [b]match-3 gameplay with a mandatory move limit[/b].
[b]the goal is to clear the path for lily to reach gems and stuff[/b] and the gameplay loop is as follows: match blocks as you usually do to make them disappear and create power-ups, [b]then draw the path itself to make lily move[/b]. she puts down ladders, so she can walk over 'air', not only on blocks. it's also possible to drop floating blocks if there's nothing under them (gravity on command, basically). you'll also want to go for glowing blocks, as they hide [b]gems that provide extra moves[/b].
[b]only matching and dropping blocks count as moves, lily can run around freely[/b], if a bit slowly. once the goal is reached (found the items, went deep enough, etc.), the level ends, but something not seen often is possible here: [b]you can continue playing after the level is completed if you have moves left[/b].
there are [b]115 levels[/b] in 8 packs, progression is somewhat non-linear with branching paths and you'll need to find secret underground passages to access some areas. levels are a bit samey, but you'll run into more and more resistant blocks that can only be broken with power-ups or not at all. you'll need to [b]upgrade the pickaxe simply by matching/digging[/b] to be able to delve deeper, but even maxed out it won't break any of the special blocks or lava on the bottom. it'll [b]provide more and more extra move gems per block though, which turns the move limit into a non-issue in many cases[/b].
[b]matching 4 or more blocks creates very useful power-ups.[/b] destroy 5 blocks in one direction or a 3x3 area (ladders and items are safe), point towards something worth digging for, or shake up the entire level. these also work while lily's moving around (except the shuffler). you can only have a single power-up at a time, but as your collection's value grows, another two slots will unlock.
speaking of, what I really like (besides the innovative match-3 gameplay) is the [b]200+ items to collect[/b]. I'm pretty sure they're randomly placed and most things can be found everywhere (depth doesn't affect quality), but each level pack has some 'local treasure'. unfortunately, there's no way of checking where to look for what, but you can find anything from bottle caps and minerals to coins, dino bones and all sorts of other things. finding multiple copies of the same thing still counts, but one of the level packs requires two 4-star items and their value gets deducted from your collection, so you might want to wait until the power-up slots are unlocked. those levels are more difficult anyway.
items aren't hidden behind blocks, you just have to find them. only 5 pieces of loot can fit in your bag, picking up another removes the cheapest one. the end of level screen only shows the 3 most precious items, but the rest also counts. I don't think discarded ones do, but I couldn't test it.
as good as it all sounds, [b]the game is not without issues[/b]. lily's movement speed is one thing, but even worse is [b]the lack of a restart level button[/b]. granted, you're unlikely to run out of moves after a while, but items can be really elusive and running out of matches or power-ups is possible, of course. then you have to quit, select the level again, wait until lily jogs to the middle of the top layer, and only after that can you give it another go.
the biggest issue, however, is [b]power-ups and extra move gems disappearing if you don't pick them up fast enough[/b], because what's more fun than real-time elements in a turn-based game... my takeaway was to have an empty slot and [b]move close to where you're about to match first and make sure you have access to the items after[/b]. even with these precautions I often ended up missing out on stuff because they go away really quickly, and [b]the radar, once activated, only shows the arrow for a few seconds[/b] as well.
[b]controls are mouse-only[/b], work as they should (path-drawing can be finicky), esc brings up the pause menu and that's it for hotkeys. separate volume sliders, low/medium/high graphics setting and some languages are available, audio settings also while playing. [b]no windowed mode, alt+enter only makes a non-resizable full size window, so it's useless[/b], gotta edit the registry if you want to set a different windowed resolution. [b]it's not the best mobile port[/b], even has a wheel to spin for random rewards (or nothing), tapping in the instructions and a 24-hour cooldown. gotta teach people the joys of gambling while they're young.
the misleadingly cutesy presentation with some really annoying music tries to make you forget about the shortcomings and make it seem as if the game is a cakewalk, but it definitely doesn't make a good first impression. I almost gave up on level 2(!), but once I got the hang of things it grew on me. even being as impatient as I am, [b]I really enjoyed it and the collection aspect was a huge plus for me[/b].
I wasn't bothered by collecting everything or even unlocking a second power-up slot or finding all the hidden levels, just wanted to finish the game, but after 40+ levels I did run out of patience. too many walls to break with power-ups that weren't always available, etc. still, fun times for a while if you go in with the right expectations. check it out [b]if you're into collecting random junk while also playing match-3 with a twist[/b].
