The one puzzle video games I play today appear to be from the Eastasiasoft publishing catalogue, with the Sokoban-focused and ice-themed SokoPenguin being probably the most latest examples. That specific recreation wasn’t nice, however the newest providing appears to proceed the icy pattern for an ice sliding puzzler titled Skater’s Solstice.
Must you get your skates on to select up Skater’s Solstice, or wouldn’t it be finest to offer it the chilly shoulder as a substitute?
Developed by Double Mizzlee, Skater’s Solstice is a top-down, ice sliding puzzler. It’s somewhat much like their different title, Shivering Stone, through which you slide blocks round a cold surroundings. The principle distinction right here is that you simply’re really sliding a skater all concerning the place, all searching for an exit for every stage. The idea is so easy it seemingly doesn’t require a tutorial, however I’ll clarify what it entails anyway.
There are fifty phases in whole, with every possessing two aims: reaching an exit level, and amassing as much as three stars that are scattered inside. You should direct the skater both up, down, left, or proper, in a bid to information the unnamed character to finishing the aforementioned duties. The skater will slide within the path of enter till a wall or an impediment is hit, at which level you possibly can transfer as soon as extra.
Contemplating the big quantity of phases current, I might count on selection by way of the introduction of recent gameplay components. Alas, it’s not the case. Quickly sufficient on the journey, pop-up spikes enter the fray as a harmful hazard for the skater to keep away from, after which portals arrive to teleport them to totally different elements of a stage, however that’s your lot. Positive, the phases get larger and extra advanced resulting from a larger variety of obstacles in addition to hazards, nonetheless this results in a distinct drawback altogether.
Because the icy phases develop in measurement, with extra areas to fret about inside the identical stage, a lot of the surroundings you’re traversing is off-screen. So primarily you’re transferring whereas blissfully unaware of what’s forward and teleporting with out realizing the place you’re going to finish up. Moreover, the huge sliding distance, and incapability to see the entire stage, makes it very tough to time actions to make sure that any spikes on the route are retracted in the meanwhile they’re handed over. Each points trigger an abundance of stage resets, which though swift, are nonetheless irritating to expertise.
From begin to end, there’s an actual fluctuation within the issue and, sadly, it’s right down to these dangerous design selections greater than anything. A stage could possibly be accomplished and dusted in lower than thirty seconds, whereas the following could frustrate for over ten minutes. A saving grace although, is that amassing the celebs is merely an elective goal and so you possibly can simply make a beeline for the exit if you want. Attending to the exit is usually a better path, which alleviates a little bit of stress.
Regarding the visuals, the little skater stands out nicely with nice readability for the wintry outfit worn by them. Much less reward may be given for the icy environments nonetheless, primarily as a result of when you’ve seen one, the remainder are simply as bland to have a look at. A couple of timber copy and pasted across the perimeters, in addition to some snow to separate the iced areas, isn’t sufficient to create an attention-grabbing setting.
On a extra optimistic word, Gamerscore fanatics might be pretty glad that buying the complete 1000G received’t take up a lot time. Even and not using a information to comply with, you’re simply over an hour to finish all fifty phases and the associated achievements. And for those who issue within the low price ticket, there’s little doubt about its attraction in that sense.
Finally although, Skater’s Solstice presents a promising puzzle idea that hits a slippery slope too swiftly. Whereas it accommodates a good variety of phases, the concepts run out quick and there’s an absence of recent components to maintain your curiosity. Even these which might be applied simply carry flaws to proceedings, which curtails the extent of enjoyment that may be had.
Until you’re an achievement hunter, Skater’s Solstice doesn’t have an entire lot to supply and it is best to look elsewhere for some puzzling enjoyable.
Skater’s Solstice Glides onto Consoles: A Chill Puzzle Journey on Ice – https://www.thexboxhub.com/skaters-solstice-glides-onto-consoles-a-chill-puzzle-adventure-on-ice/
Purchase Skater’s Solstice on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/video games/retailer/skaters-solstice/9MWF9BZNVLXK
