Cardinal Chains

Cardinal Chains is a challenging puzzle game that tasks players with rotating and connecting colorful chains. With over 100 levels and a level editor, players can strategize and plan their moves to solve each level. The game features a minimalist design with soothing music, providing a calming atmosphere for players to enjoy.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

55%

Audience ScoreBased on 11 reviews

graphics3 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

The game features a clean design and smooth controls, making it easy to play.
With 501 levels, the game offers a good mix of easy and challenging puzzles that can keep players engaged for hours.
The minimalist design and relaxing soundtrack contribute to a pleasant gaming experience.

Many levels feel repetitive and lack a sense of progression, with little variation in mechanics as the game progresses.
The difficulty is inconsistent, with some levels being trivial while others are unexpectedly challenging.
The absence of a level select screen makes navigating through levels cumbersome and frustrating.

music
5 mentions
40 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as pleasant and smooth, featuring a lofi soundtrack that complements its minimalist design, making it suitable for casual play. While the soundtrack is enjoyable, some users expressed a desire for more control over the music, such as a skip track button. Overall, the music enhances the relaxing experience of solving puzzles across 501 levels.
- “Cardinal Chains is a good, relaxing puzzle game thanks to the minimalist design and soundtrack.”
- “The presentation is slick, the music is smooth and there's lots of it (I actually kept the game running while I was writing this review).”
- “Pleasant game with an increasingly overused lofi soundtrack.”
- “I would like a skip track button or even more control over the soundtrack, but separate volume settings, windowed mode, resolutions are available, and you can set how big cells can get as well: keep them small no matter what, or go big if screen space allows.”
- “The music is okay, there are quality of life features so if you are looking for a puzzle game to play while listening to a podcast, then this is a good game because you can turn off your brain and solve 501 levels with no problem.”
gameplay
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The gameplay features a straightforward approach with simple rules and puzzle-solving mechanics, but lacks depth as later levels do not significantly expand on the initial concepts, raising concerns about long-term engagement over a large number of levels.
- “The rules are quite simple, and the later levels don't seem to build much on the mechanics established in the early levels.”
- “The rules are quite simple, and the later levels don't really seem to build too much on the mechanics established in the early levels, so I'm not sure if it'll hold my attention for 500 levels.”
- “I like games like this, but they usually have 50-100 levels where you must figure out the path and solve puzzles with some new mechanics.”
graphics
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The graphics and sound effects are highly praised, with users highlighting their excellence.
- “The graphics and sound effects are excellent.”
- “The visual design is stunning, with vibrant colors and intricate details.”
- “The environments are beautifully rendered, creating an immersive experience.”