UFOTOFU: HEX

[b]ufotofu: hex[/b] is a palindrome-based matching game. think of words like racecar, madam, or the lyrics to weird al's [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAfIikFnvuI]bob[/url], replace letters with colors and that's what you're doing here. I never played the original mobile game mentioned on the store page but this has hexagons, making that one obsolete and this infinitely better, yet still disappointing. there's a [b]really inconvenient tutorial[/b]. 3 pages of looping animations, can't pause, no idea how long each one is, gotta wait for them to start repeating, lame. the mouse is the most comfortable way to play but keyboard and controller are also available everywhere. always nice, especially from a mobile port, but [b]keys aren't rebindable[/b] (q/w/e/a/s/d and space). dragging and clicking individual tiles both work, can go back on your selection, even hold the mouse for a few seconds over it to cancel the whole thing. [b]3 game modes[/b], have no idea about the differences ...

A minimalist puzzle game with a killer core mechanic. Creating the palindromes is so much more of an interesting and challenging puzzle mechanic than most match 3 style games. There isn't really a 'difficulty' to the game since there's no external rewards for making longer chains, which is positive in the sense that I can put in as much effort as I want without pressure, but on the downside means there's less incentive for me to push myself to spend the time to find the really big chains. Even steam achievements would go a long way for this. My biggest criticism, and it's mostly a nitpick, but I REALLY wish it didn't lock you from continuing to move after finding a palindrome. It's frustrating to be trying to get a longer chain and be cut off early (e.g. a chain that starts and ends with red-blue-red can't be made).

Bite-sized but polished and supremely calming. The puzzle design is a chewy mix of freedom and interesting constraints that naturally bring out fun challenges.

A relaxing, zen-like experience which hits that sweet spot where you end up achieving a sense of flow.

This is one of those games that is easy to learn but tough to master. The controls are completely intuitive, but it's also nice that the game is explained entirely without words. I played the previous version of this game on Android and was pleased to see that it no longer automatically completes the palindromes. The number of times I'd get a 3 chain because I was an idiot >_< Verdict: Gimme those zen brain burns.

Gorgeous game with a relaxing atmosphere to distract you from your brain overheating trying to figure out how to get a chain above 21. Rather than blitzing through levels like most match-3 games, you are eternally trying to better yourself, which is admirable and damn difficult. bonus points for releasing on 22/1/22

This is a really fun, colourful game that puts a nice spin on the classic tile matching puzzle formula. The only drawback for me was that the games are limited to either 5 or 10 moves dependent upon which board you choose, so I would really love to see a new game mode that allows for longer play. Perhaps a timed game where creating long chains adds something back into the timer, or an endless mode where the minimum allowable chain length progressively increases. You get the idea.