[b]the magnets[/b] isn't a physics-based puzzler, as you might expect. no, it's basically [b]math-based basketball on a grid[/b]. or something.
the goal is to make the ball (not a basketball but whatever) fall into a hole (not a basket but whatever) by [b]placing magnets all over the place to push and pull blocks around[/b]. it's grid-based and there's [b]no timing, precise movement or any of that nonsense[/b] involved, the number of available moves is determined by the number of pieces.
e.g. if the magnet has a 5 on it and the same-colord block has 3, placing the magnet on the left will push the block 2 tiles to the right because math. if the block is a different color, it'll be pulled 2 tiles, and in either case the magnet will lose its magnetic property, they're all single-use.
[b]numbers also represent reach[/b], so a block with a 5 will only affect stuff within 5 tiles in every cardinal direction (no diagonals), meaning if you place it further away from a block with 1 on it, it might not move it 4 tiles depending on their distance from each other. unlike balls, blocks don't fall down if pushed off a platform, but can be moved vertically.
there's a [b]5-page in-game guide[/b] on how to play, though it's mostly illustrations and examples of obvious stuff like each ball has to reach the platform of their respective color, you can't pull a block with a 5 using a magnet with a 3 because it's weaker, of if the 'line of sight' is blocked by another piece or a ball, nothing will happen. [b]more than one ball can be pushed simultaneously[/b], but multiple things can't move into the same square, e.g. if a block would come from below and another from the right at the same time.
[b]40 levels[/b], 7 of which are unlocked at any given time, so you're never stuck on just one, and [b]mid-level progress is saved when you quit[/b] as well. [b]undo only takes back a move that de-magnitizes a magnet[/b], otherwise they have to be removed manually. at first I thought the game broke, but at least picking up another magnet removes the unused one from the grid. the bigger issue is, [b]restart also only works when there are no rogue magnets on the grid[/b], which is as baffling as it is annoying.
the game is [b]completely mouse-driven, no hotkeys[/b]. left click picks up a piece, right click rotates, another left places it. clickable level numbers (or esc) for level selection and undo and restart buttons on-screen, wouldn't mind hotkeys for those. in fact, [b]I'd prefer if mouse wheel rotated and right click worked as undo[/b], and ideally there'd be a toggle to switch them around if need be.
different people need varying amounts of time to solve the same puzzles, but I think this game is definitely one that will take, say, 30 minutes for one person and hours for another. I'm in the latter group, gotta get used to the whole push/pull and reach thing, so [b]I wouldn't mind an optional line of sight overlay[/b] for the currently held magnet to clearly see which squares are affected. I can count to 5 but still.
[b]painfully slow animations are also a major problem, and you can't do anything while things are moving[/b], no undo or restart, because they don't work as they should even outside animations. no volume settings either, only a single button to switch between full audio, only sfx or nothing. not even separate toggles is as lazy as it gets. unintrusive audio otherwise, effects are too loud compared to the ambient music, not worth having either on. audio settings, languages and resizable windowed mode are only accessible from the main menu, another example of bad design, though alt+enter works for windowed mode.
it's a really neat idea with nice minimalist graphics and some cool and clever puzzles. if it ever gets fixed up, I'll be more than happy to flip the review, but [b]due to issues mentioned above, I can't recommend it currently[/b]. such a simple game should do all the basic stuff right instead of making the player spend more time moving unused pieces off the grid and watching movement animations than figuring out the puzzles.
