Kolumno

It tries to be a neat little puzzle game, but it's actually frustrating and tedious. The levels are so repetitive, the only way to go forward in later levels is trying. Trying and trying until you get lucky enough to get the timing right. No thinking, no logic, also no reaction (except if you are a computer) needed. Simply keep trying until you get the timing frameperfect. Which, is not only boring, but also very unfun to play.

TLDR: THIS IS NOT A PUZZLE GAME. You know the solution, but it's dumb because the mechanics are all about the timing of a few arrow-key presses. Not a thinking game, but a triggering one.

[table] [tr] [th][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33501916/]Follow my curator for more great puzzle game recommendations![/url][/th] [/tr] [/table] Kolumno is an interesting combination of puzzle game and reaction game. Drop the steel ball from the top of the column to the bottom avoiding all the obstacles, simple as that. Of course, nothing is that simple! It's all about timing and the correct use of the various skills at hand. Any hit results in the ball missing the hole at the bottom so you have to be perfect, sometimes pixel perfect. Rings spin around, open and close and appear and disappear. Luckily you have the aforementioned skills. Pause the ball for a few seconds, shrink the ball to fit through tight gaps, drop really fast and smash through up to four blocks. Most of the levels only require one or two skills or even just perfect timing. Some of the later levels do require you to use most if not all the skills, these levels are tough though th...

This is not a puzzle game, more of a reaction/anticipation/hope-you-get-lucky kind of game. You spend more effort staying patient with the game than actual thinking, as some of these levels are down to a few tenths of a second window. Regardless, $1 for 90 minutes isn't a bad deal considering.

A decent "puzzle" concept which was poorly executed. Despite its appearance as a puzzle game, Kolumno is more of an exercise on low-forgiveness button pressing. This game falls sadly between the likes of Celeste and any standard puzzle game. In Celeste, your goal and each step to attain that goal are fairly obvious throughout the game. Because everything is clearly laid out, the challenge is in timing and execution - and this is good [i]only[/i] because everything is clearly laid out. Meanwhile, puzzle games generally lack time pressure and execution is at your pace, with the solution needing to be produced by you. Kolumno takes both of these concepts and makes for an un-engaging and frustrating experience. Each level (past the introductory levels, where the 4 abilities are introduced to you) requires absolute pinpoint timing. A few fractions of a second early or late is a guaranteed failure. Again, like in Celeste, this is OK if everything you need to do is absolutely clear. Howeve...

It was surprisingly difficult for what seemed at first like a mobile port. It's got a few simple mechanics that they use well to create a kind of puzzle game but its got a lot of timing elements that are very tricky and there are multiple solutions to some. Really cool little game, short but sweet.

This game is very polarizing, to say the least. Here's my experience with it: - The first 15 puzzles serve as a minor tutorial. They serve as the building blocks for what you'll need to be familiar with in order to solve (or try to solve) each puzzle. You'll learn how to use each of the four abilities (stasis, speed ball, mini ball and crush ball) - Yes, it becomes very challenging and at some points rage quit worthy. - While some puzzles require precision and skill, others do seem to require more luck than skill. - At times I felt very confident in completing each challenge as the first handful of puzzles followed a basic pattern (introduce special skill, basic puzzle to use the skill then increase difficulty, repeat) - Yet after you've learned every combination of the abilities, things go from tough to pretty insane - I stuck with it long enough to reach level 30 before taking another break. I enjoy very challenging games and this game definitely scratched that itch. - If you...

Requires pinpoint accuracy and timing. The graphics are poor as well. Not a casual game and not a puzzle game.

Such a simple game, but quite a challenge! For the price, I recommend it. Easy decision to make. :)

Short "puzzle" game where you have to drop a ball down the side of a rotating cylinder while avoiding obstacles, utilizing power-ups like reducing the size of the ball or stopping it mid-air. The reason I put puzzle in " " is because towards the end it's more about trying and failing until you get lucky than actually using your brain, but I still enjoyed my hour with Kolumno so I'm giving it a thumbs up. Plus, it's cheap (on sale).