Puzzlesque is a sliding tile puzzle game with a twist: the puzzles are animated scenes instead of still pictures. Puzzlesque lets you choose up to eight scenes, from optical illusions to a field of wind turbines. There are two formats to chose from, 3×3 and 5×5 grids, with 3×3 being less challenging. I hope they have plans to add larger and more difficult challenges such as 7×7 or even 9×9.
As the game starts you are shown a table with a cup of coffee and a box of a puzzles that, when opened, contains options play, setup and a how to guide. When pressing play you are taken to a shelf containing the various puzzles, sort of like picking out a good book.
Puzzle pieces are outlined when you highlight them. To move a puzzle piece you tap one piece then tap another and they reverse positions. When a puzzle piece has reached its correct location it blends in. If two or more pieces are in the correct location they blend together. To make it more challenging, the game allows the player to set it so pieces flip or rotate randomly, which the player then has to make face the correct direction. Tapping the eye icon along the side allows you to see the completed puzzle for reference. The page button allows you to return to main menu or go to the options screen to change settings such as music and sound. Even with the difficulty settings, as it stands, Puzzlesque isn’t terribly challenging.
The eight scenes that make the puzzles are hot air balloons, an island, a field of wind turbines, a camp with a burning campfire, ascending and descending staircases, a zooming kaleidoscope, a spinning illusion and the classic ball in the tunnel illusion. The hardest of the puzzles to complete was the zooming kaleidoscope. It’s hard to get your eyes to focus on moving the right pieces.
This game works well on an iPhone or iPad because of the smooth transition of puzzle pieces, but in general this mostly going to be a quick game to play while standing in line somewhere, and that’s about it. Unless they add more boards, especially ones that ramp up the difficulty, it doesn’t have much replay value.
That said, if you enjoy sliding tile puzzles, you will enjoy Puzzlesque, at least for a little while. It certainly adds life to the normally static world and tiles you are likely used to playing.
Puzzlesque earns 2.5 out of 5 GiN Gems.