Genre: Puzzle / Platform: PC, Mac / Price: 4.99
Chains is a puzzle game where you have to connect lines between 3 or more bubbles of matching color to clear them off the screen. If you're a puzzle gamer, this concept is so familiar, you could have probably figured it out by the screenshot alone, however, Chains is a whole lot more than just that.
The 5 Cents:
- Simple concept, but built to feel unique to Chains
- Each level forces you to think about the game in a different way
- The use of gravity causes you to prioritize where/how you chain instead of just mindlessly connecting bubbles
- Simple vector graphics are good and vibrant, giving you a world, but leaving the focus on the gameplay
- Plenty of levels to entertain you for hours
As I said, at its most basic level, Chains requires you to connect 3 or more similar colored bubbles together in order to remove them from the screen. You connect them in order, based on proximity; so they don't have to be physically touching, but pretty close to each other depending on the size of the bubble. However, what makes Chains unique is the use of physics. For example, in the level that you see pictured in the top of this review, the bubbles fall from the top and get split between the two sides of this object. The object is swinging back and forth and you have to delete 300 bubbles before 30 of them fall off the sides. Because there is real physics, this becomes a real challenge in how you delete your chains.
There are several challenging levels that force you to delete X number before you lose X number, but that's not the only style challenge. I recall one that had a gate that would fall open if you let too many chains pile up on it and a few that required you to create a chain of at least X bubbles to complete the level. These goals and different objects in each level make them all feel like a new challenge. Even if the base concept remains the same, the level's themselves vary so much, you have to rework your thinking for every single one.
Really, I don't think I can complain about Chains. It's a well-built, fun to play, simple concept with a lot of variety and good replay value. I couldn't stop playing once I got started and got the hang of it, though I did fail quite a bit towards the beginning as I got the feel for creating Chains. I would love to see some more levels released just to see what sort of things the developers can think up. I highly recommend picking up Chains if you haven't yet, you won't be let down.
Chains was developed by 2DEngine and is available for the PC and Mac for $4.99 from Steam.
