Triga

Solving Triga's puzzles often feel like lining up dominoes just so to achieve the right chain reaction. It reminds me of the puzzle mode in Critter Crunch, where you have to visualize successive board states after minimal inputs. This isn't really my preferred mode of puzzling, but I still think Triga does a solid job. The puzzles sometimes get visually messy- more on that in a moment- but I was always able to work toward a solution with a bit of experimentation. It helps that many of the solutions are thoughtful or clever in some way, which is what matters in the end. That said, it is kind of a headache to initially parse some puzzles, especially later on as they take up more space, include more pre-set pieces, and give you more pieces to place yourself. What seems intended as the final puzzle gives you a whopping 18 pieces to place over a sprawling area with multiple elements. Personally I consider this complexity over depth, and not the right way to design a final puzzle. Other late-game puzzles are less egregious offenders, but it is a general issue for me. Compounding this issue is the fact that most puzzles take up only a small fraction of screen space in the center- for a standard desktop display, at least. The graphics could have been easily doubled in size, and there probably still would have been ample screen space left over except for maybe that final puzzle. Even were that a problem, perhaps some kind of camera pan or zoom could be implemented. It just seems like a waste of space, and a potential accessibility problem. A more minor note, but while Triga follows games like Stephen's Sausage Roll in not providing any explicit tutorial, I'm not sure the concepts came as naturally to me in this case. I felt like I was stumbling over basic rules for maybe the first third of the game, personally. Regardless, with secondary tasks and secrets in addition to the main puzzles, Triga feels like a complete package, and might be the most developed entry in the CosmOS 9 bundle. So long as you don't hate the domino-like puzzling style, it's probably worth a look.

Okay, we gotta talk about that soundtrack. HOW IS IT SO GOOD? It's all bops, it sounds futuristic while sounding retro, it's zany, it's snappy, it's trippy, and I love it so much. With that out of the way, TRIGA's qualities are not limited to just a BANGER soundtrack. The puzzle elements here are probably the ones that grew on me the most out of all the games in the CosmOS 9 bundle, and they already started strong. Wrapping my head around how the triangular grid works, how pieces interact, and how to manipulate chain reactions was very satisfying, but also challenging. This is without a doubt the hardest game in the bundle, and there were 2 or 3 levels where I actually needed tips to solve, and I commend the developer for managing to do that in such a short game. There's also a great sense of comedy at play here, another very positive trait. This game is amazing, and if puzzle games are your thing, don't miss out on this gem.

Will Riker brought this cool game from Risa that's all the rage aboard the USS Enterprise.

Really fun short puzzle game. It doesn't have any text tutorials so you find out about every mechanic via experimentation. I love the sense of discovery in this game, from the mechanics to the story. I 100% completed the game walkthroughless and although I frequently felt very stumped, never felt completely hopeless. Highly recommend.

This is your brain on triga: https://youtu.be/aLCZglhQjL4 Play at your own risk of headache. It was fun. I will never play it ever again. 10/10

Short but very good game. Personality in buckets, this game has a very funky premise that could turn off some casual folk. But stick with it. Once the learning curve flattens, you got some fun puzzling ahead

Very good puzzle game. A lot of fun to discover all the mechanics and gets surprisingly intricate. Also the music keeps spirits up even while banging the head against a wall that is some of those late game puzzles.

The OST slaps.

I'm very thankful for the human that managed to collect all the triangular pieces & boost the signal all the way, there was allot of devious puzzles & unexpected twists & turns. In the end they managed, in due part to the interesting mechanics & stellar soundtrack. I'm so happy I think I'll thank the human personally, I hope they don't mind.

Triga