There are a lot of puzzles games on the app store that try to set the bar high, push the creativity, and make each level more challenging. Most of these puzzle games can get repetitive, especially if it may come easy to you or if you’ve played a similar game. On the other hand, there are a few, which are few and far between that bring new and unique experiences to the table.
Gaias Quest ($0.99, App Store Link) from Dinoroar Interactive is just that. While other puzzle games tend to have good presentation and add more elements or different modes to keep the game fresh, Gaias Quest adds beautiful hand drawn artwork, which results in visually stunning and challenging puzzles.
Gameplay
In Gaias Quest, for each stage, there are two puzzles to solve. The first puzzle is a lot easier. You have to use different elements within the puzzle to find the gem. The second part of the puzzle is a lot more difficult. The other puzzle you need to solve is the only way to get to the next stage. This second puzzle is much harder. I even found the second part of the puzzle in the first few levels significantly difficult.
If you touch the hint option on the top left of the screen, it will give you some sort of clue, but it’s pretty vague. After you solve the first puzzle, it’s somewhat obvious what object you need to use to solve the next puzzle, but the difficulty comes in when you need to interact that object with another.
The premise of the game is to help the peace loving goddess Gaia find 16 gems hidden throughout all the levels, which were hidden eons ago. There are four beautifully hand drawn worlds in Gaias Quest. Each world contains four different puzzles with a total of 16 challenging puzzles in all.
There is a lot of problem solving to go through in the game. The story is somewhat vague besides the introduction the beginning of the game. Just some pictures and text in between the four worlds would have been a good addition to the game besides before the first world.
Graphics
The one thing that stands out the most in Gaias Quest amongst anything else are the graphics. I don’t think I’ve seen an iPad game in which the whole game consists of hand drawn levels. There may be some elements, backgrounds, or certain assets in other games, but nothing as in-depth as what GaiasQuest offers. The game also has great HD graphics that look beautiful on the iPad. Especially because the game is hand drawn, there’s a lot of detail, which shows off even more on the new iPad’s retina display.
Conclusion
Gaias Quest is one puzzle game that’s few and far between. Having 16 puzzles might be somewhat short for someone who may play a puzzle game more often. The first few levels may seem hard at first, but once you get through those, you get used to the gameplay. Some of the puzzles may seem obvious to a point, but then there are others that can get trickier. Another thing I found interesting was the ability to go to and from different levels in any given world.
Once you find the gem in a stage, you are able to skip over to a different puzzle and then come back if you ever get stumped. Gaias Quest is one of the best puzzle games out there. Having hand drawn levels only adds to the quality of all the puzzles. No matter if you’re a more casual gamer or not, Gaias Quest is one of the most challenging puzzle games on he app store.
Price: $0.99, App Store Link
Rating: 4/5[rating:4]
Pros:
- Hand drawn artwork throughout the whole game
- 16 challenging levels
- Straight forward gameplay is easy for any user
Cons:
- Vague story
- A few puzzles may be hard for more casual gamers
