4 Elements
- July 12, 2010
- Playrix Entertainment
- 20h median play time
Get on Steam"4 Elements" is a charming and captivating puzzle game with a gripping storyline and beautiful animation. Your goal is to restore the ancient kingdom by unlocking 4 books of magic and collecting 16 mysterious cards. With 64 levels, 20 bonus tasks, a rich variety of magic creatures, and stunning visual effects, this game offers a fun and challenging experience.
PC
Windows
Linux
Nintendo 3ds
Nintendo Dsi
Reviews
- Engaging and addictive gameplay with a unique twist on the match-3 genre, incorporating hidden object and spot-the-difference puzzles.
- Beautiful graphics and soothing music create a relaxing atmosphere, making it enjoyable to play.
- Offers a decent amount of content with 64 match-3 levels, 16 spot-the-difference puzzles, and 4 hidden object puzzles, providing good value for casual gamers.
- The game can become repetitive and lacks significant challenge, especially in the earlier levels.
- The camera can obstruct gameplay, making it difficult to see certain areas and causing frustration during timed levels.
- Limited replayability as players cannot revisit completed levels without starting a new game, which can hinder achievement hunting.
- story69 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered minimal and clichéd, serving primarily as a backdrop for the match-3 gameplay rather than a focal point. While some players appreciate the cute and simple narrative involving magical elements and quests, many feel it lacks depth and originality, often describing it as predictable and not essential to the overall experience. Overall, the story adds a light charm to the game but is not a significant draw for players seeking a rich narrative.
“It's a classic match 3 or more casual game with an extensive fantasy storyline, as well as find-it puzzles.”
“The story, while very limited in scope, is a nice touch and it adds on to the overall theme of the game.”
“The story is neat, and each chapter had a new design with nice music and things.”
“The game should only take you around 6-8 hours to complete and the story is basically non-existent, so I would not worry about anything said by the fairy in the game or even give a worth of a hoot to the intro.”
“Unfortunately, the presentation and 'story' are as cliched as anything I have ever witnessed in a game.”
“The 'story' part is absolutely useless and despite beating the game, I have no idea what was going on with the story.”
- graphics51 mentions
- 49 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as colorful and appealing, featuring nice animations and artwork, though some players note that they appear somewhat dated and are limited to low resolutions. While the visuals are often praised for their charm and aesthetic appeal, there are complaints about the lack of resolution options and the inability to skip graphic transitions. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the gameplay experience, even if they don't reach modern standards.
“The graphics are beautiful and the music is relaxing.”
“This is an enjoyable stone match / hidden object game with beautiful animation and colorful graphics.”
“The hand-drawn graphics are beautiful, but the style sometimes makes it difficult to tell where the differences are or the hidden objects are.”
“The biggest problem with the game is the low resolution graphics.”
“Your options are limited to playing fullscreen with horribly stretched graphics and the desktop suffering or playing in a tiny window too small to see anything.”
“One big drawback is the low graphical fidelity of the game.”
- gameplay39 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a satisfying mix of match-3 mechanics, unique level designs, and engaging power-ups, providing a casual yet addictive experience. Players appreciate the vibrant graphics and animations, although some levels introduce obstructions that can detract from the initial explosive fun. While the game offers a variety of gameplay types and solid mechanics, some users noted issues with replayability and visibility due to the automatic camera.
“The gameplay is excellent: simple, solid mechanics, good level design, nice graphics and sound produce a game which is fun and, in later levels, challenging enough to give a sense of achievement when you complete the game.”
“The central mechanic of using matches to create a path means that there's more 'movement' to the levels than in most match-3s, which allows for some interesting level design.”
“An amazing puzzle game, mixing mechanics from existing games to create this very addictive piece.”
“The game adds 3-4 different types of obstructions by that point, largely removing the satisfying 'exploding everything with long chains' gameplay of the early levels.”
“So repetitive gameplay, slow progress and a storyline you'd rather kill than follow.”
“The only weakness in the gameplay is occasional visibility problems caused by the automatic camera and direction arrow.”
- music38 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its relaxing and pleasant qualities, often describing it as well-suited to the gameplay. However, some find it repetitive and occasionally boring, suggesting it lacks variety. Overall, while the soundtrack enhances the gaming experience for many, it may not stand out for all players.
“The music is very well done and fits gameplay perfectly.”
“Every click of a button results in a harmonious tap or chime, rewarding your headway with a rush of flowing water or wisp of wind, weaving an encouraging musical atmosphere as you restore the world around you.”
“A great game with great music!”
“Music is repetitive and boring.”
“This one is just pretentious, and the music puts me to sleep.”
“The music is rather repetitive.”
- replayability11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it enjoyable and worth revisiting due to its mechanics, others feel it lacks significant replay value, often citing a desire for additional modes or features to enhance the experience. Many users express that replaying levels can become repetitive, limiting long-term engagement.
“Because of the mechanics, there is a good bit of replayability.”
“13 hours for $4 and definite replayability?”
“Surprisingly enjoyable and replayable.”
“Not sure how much replay value there is, as I'm pretty sure you would just replay the levels over again.”
“- no real replayability.”
“As great as the gameplay was, though, there are things that destroy the replay value.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and monotonous, particularly criticizing the repetitive nature of tasks like spot-the-difference puzzles. While the initial concept is appealing, the gameplay quickly becomes boring, leading some to prefer more engaging alternatives.
“For me, there are two big flaws: the tediousness of the game and the sharp curve in the puzzles.”
“First, the game is very tedious.”
“Concept is nice, but after the first few levels it gets boring and tedious.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, frequently freezing for 1-5 seconds every few minutes during gameplay, while other applications remain responsive. This indicates that the problem is isolated to the game itself.
“The game very regularly freezes up while playing a level, becoming completely unresponsive for 1-5 seconds at a time, sometimes several times a minute.”
“Browser, Steam client, Notepad, Task Manager, and Windows menu all respond fluently at the time the game freezes, so it is very clearly just the game window.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely dependent on personal taste, with some players finding amusement in the presence of a fairy reminiscent of Navi. However, the overall comedic value is diminished by the game's simplicity, leading to mixed feelings about its effectiveness in delivering humor.
“Overall, I wouldn't recommend the game unless you are really a match-3 fan and find it funny to have a fairy at your side making you think of Navi.”
“It's so easy it isn't even funny.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is characterized by a harmonious blend of sound and nature, where each action is accompanied by soothing taps and chimes, creating an immersive experience that enhances the sense of progress and restoration in the game world.
“Every click of a button results in a harmonious tap or chime, rewarding your progress with a rush of flowing water or a wisp of wind, weaving an encouraging musical atmosphere as you restore the world around you.”
