[u]In short:[/u] This is a very simple and relaxed mosaic-based puzzle game. The artwork is beautiful and the various materials well implemented. There are some tone-deaf decisions trying to push players for timed challenges, but thankfully this is almost entirely optional. The pricing is more than adequate for the amount of content. The sequel is not quite on par, but you may still want to consider buying the bundle for even more content.
[u]In long:[/u] The [b][u]mechanics[/u][/b] are simple but well implemented. Each level starts with some of the irregular tiles already in place. A side-bar holds 5 randomly picked tiles so there is pretty much always some kind of adjacency available. Picking up a tile attaches it to your mouse pointer, meaning you don't have to hold down the button while trying to fit it in on the board (smart!). My only gripe is that hovering pieces are slightly larger than in final placement (they are "above" the puzzle and slot in when placed), which makes it sometimes hard to gauge where it fits, especially towards some edges of the playing field, when the hovering tiles bump against the edge and you can't really see the outline of what has already been placed. The last level of each of the 6 level packs has a strange mechanic where you have to rotate the board to make tiles fit. It's not great and doesn't handle well, but it's acceptable for occasional variety.
Each level comes with 3 challenges - to beat it, to make no mistakes and to clear a certain time. I think the last one is pretty tone-deaf. This is a nice pensive/meditative game and I see no point in hurrying through levels. Thankfully you can put on "Relaxed mode" which disables the time limit. I barely ever met the time goal, but thankfully that didn't matter due to "Relaxed mode". Playing for time would probably require you to make extensive use of the hint system, which shows you the postion of a randomly selected tile every 30 seconds. It's handy, but that's just not how I wanted to play.
There is a good amount of [b][u]content[/u][/b] with six worlds of 25 levels each, for a total of 150 puzzles. I liked the progression - levels got bigger and harder towards the end. For about 9 hours of relaxing gameplay the price is more than fair (especially the soundtrack bundle). But there even is decent replayability as the starting tiles and the tile order are always randomized. There is also a "Fever mode" where you have to place only 7 tiles per level and have to survive against a count-down, earning additional seconds for each level. I think it sucks and I played it only for the achievements. It helps that you can familiarize yourself a bit with the level before starting the timer, but I just don't see the point or fun.
In terms of [b][u]presentation[/u][/b] I am quite impressed. Most pictures are well done and quite pretty. Themes are somewhere in the intersection of landscapes, animals, history and fantasy. I really like the various materials (stained glass, gemstones, cloth, paper) - they look great and are well implemented (each with their own sound effects). Upon completing a level a short animation of sprouting vines plays before the level statistics pop in. This is a bit of a shame as I would have liked to bask in the completed artwork (this is something fixed by the otherwise mediocre sequel; see below). But to have a closer look you can always open the images in the in-game gallery. The UI is somewhat of a blemish and looks quite antiquated. The music is not bad and somewhat memorable, but it started getting repetitive and annoying fairly quickly (as in-game music usually does in puzzle games for me). Especially the main menu song seemed like it didn't fit the otherwise calm tone of the game at all. The "story" is told in two short animations and had no impact whatsoever on the gameplay.
On the [b][u]technical side[/u][/b] the game gets only passing marks. Switching to windowed mode (my preference for puzzle games) worked well, albeit it was limited to a fixed window size, which is always a shame. Separate audio sliders are always welcome. The only other thing worth mentioning is "left-handed mode" which switches the tile storage to the other side of the board.
In [b][u]conclusion[/u][/b] I didn't expect too much from the game, but was pleasantly surprised. No doubt this has rough aspects that could have used some polish, but over-all I do think this is a bit of a hidden gem. I love me a good jigsaw and this scratches the same itch with a nice artistic packaging. This game is easily worth the asking price for a fresh take on the genre, especially in the criminally cheap sountrack bundle.
PS: The [b][u]sequel[/u][/b] is decent and still has a load of content, but I don't consider the quality to be quite on par (and thus not warranting a separate review). The pictures are neat, but not as clean and stylish as in the first game and there are some annoying quirks (very rarely even mis-shaped pieces that overlap). The time pressure is gone, but replaced by an equally tone-deaf scoring mechanic. I think the bundle is still worth buying just to have more content, but even with some fixes and improvements it's clear that the sequel doesn't quite capture the magic of the first installment.
