Slide Colors

Game: Slide Colors
Developer: Taykron Games
Release Date: 1/12/10
Multiplayer: None
Distribution Method: XBLIG (Download)
Price: 80 MSP ($1.00 USD)

Going through Indie Games is always an interesting task, and is very hit-or-miss. Sometimes, you stumble into a game that hardly has its controls figured out, and sometimes you find your way to a fine example of polished design at work. Slide Colors is considerably closer to the latter.

Though puzzle games are not generally my favorite genre, a well thought-out puzzle game can suck many hours of my free time into its square-shaped hell. Slide Colors does a damn good job of trapping my soul - in a good way - in an interesting twist on the tried-and-true gameplay of matching three colored blocks in a row.

Controls are simple, intuitive, and effective, and the menus are acceptably simple, intuitive, effective, and easy on the eyes. The playing field is a 7x7 grid of colored squares. Each color is also identified by a distinct symbol, making the game colorblind friendly. This is a nice feature, and unlike other games with colorblind modes that are hidden in the options, is not distracting to those that are not colorblind.

Slide Colors' simple gameplay is matched by being extremely easy to pick up on, but the game still manages to be an entertaining challenge. The real difference here is how you make matches, by 'sliding' entire rows and columns. This make the game seem a lot faster than Bejeweled, since you can make more than one match at a time, filling large sections of the screen with particles.

The three modes are surprisingly varied, with Time attack being your standard 'go as long as you can' mode. Puzzle mode eliminates your need to make matches, and instead challenges you to place blocks in marked positions. (It's actually more challenging than it at first appears.) Clear Blocks mode is perhaps the most interesting, as it tasks the player with having to remove all of the blocks you start the game with. Power ups and lots of quick thinking are your best friends here.

While a very good game, there are a few problems, mostly in sound design. The music is decent, though not perfect, but is far from the problem. The real problem is the sound for making a match, which Mac users will know very well as the sound you hear whenever a task is completed. It sounds nice at first, but gets irritating fast.

At only 80 MSP, Slide Colors is a well polished and thought-out puzzle game for your 360. While the sound design might be a bit lacking, it still stands as one of the most playable and entertaining Indie Games available. It is also among the few Indie Game puzzle games that I have enjoyed.

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Bottom Line:
Simple and interesting puzzle game that's a steal for only 80 MSP.