Dissembler

About

Dissembler is a single player casual puzzle game. It was developed by Ian MacLarty and was released on February 21, 2018. It received positive reviews from players.

Dissembler is a award-winning puzzle game where you unravel abstract artworks by flipping tile pairs to form color matches. With increasing complexity, the goal is to remove all tiles and leave a clean slate. Its minimalist design, chilled soundtrack, and range of puzzles make it a satisfying, engaging experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 64 reviews

gameplay7 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

Dissembler features a unique blend of match-3 mechanics with innovative puzzle design, introducing new obstacles and game mechanics that keep the gameplay fresh and engaging.
The game offers a substantial amount of content, including 174 handcrafted levels, daily challenges, and an infinite mode, providing significant replay value.
The minimalist art style and satisfying sound effects enhance the overall relaxing experience, making it enjoyable to play in short bursts.

The lack of a redo action in the main and daily levels can lead to frustration, as players cannot easily correct mistakes without manually restarting.
Some puzzles can feel overly reliant on trial and error, leading to a guessing game rather than a logical solving experience, especially in the later levels.
The infinite mode can be frustratingly luck-based, with small mistakes potentially ruining progress, making it feel repetitive and grindy.

gameplay
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
63%
11%
The gameplay is characterized by the introduction of new obstacles and mechanics that keep the core tile-flipping mechanic engaging and fresh, often combining with existing elements. Players appreciate the balance of challenge and relaxation, with modes that cater to different skill levels, though some find the gameplay unstructured and occasionally frustrating. Overall, the game effectively evolves through its levels, encouraging strategic thinking while providing significant replay value through various modes and challenges.
- “The mechanics are introduced pretty nicely, and being able to rewind really does save a lot of frustration in trying to unwrap the more complex puzzles.”
- “Simple mechanics belie the sometimes challenging moments throughout the couple hundred levels, daily challenges, and 'endless' play modes, giving the game significant replay value.”
- “Here lies its most interesting trait: Dissembler stands out in the vast 2D puzzle scene by bringing to the table a kind of game that evolves through the levels not because it adds in more mechanics, but because it actually forces you to think harder about what the final move needs to be in order to beat it.”
- “Personally, I didn’t find the game to be particularly engaging.”
- “It can be unclear how some mechanics work, but I guess the theory is that learning by doing is part of the puzzle.”
- “I'd recommend holding off on these modes until you get familiar with all the mechanics in the main game, but after that they can provide a few extra hours of entertainment in small doses.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
38%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their elegant and modern aesthetics, featuring beautiful minimalistic designs and vibrant tile sets. Players appreciate the pleasant visuals and responsive gameplay, which enhance the overall experience, making it enjoyable despite the simplicity. The combination of appealing artwork and a suitable soundtrack contributes to a captivating atmosphere.
- “The minimalistic/simplistic + modern aesthetics are beautiful, and so are the various colored tile sets.”
- “Not only are the puzzles really good and challenging, but the visuals and sounds are amazing too.”
- “The graphics are really nice.”
- “The graphics are outdated and lack the detail expected from modern games.”
- “The character models look flat and lifeless, making it hard to get immersed in the game.”
- “The environments feel bland and uninspired, which detracts from the overall experience.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The game offers significant replayability through its hundreds of levels, daily challenges, and an infinite mode, providing players with a variety of engaging content. While daily challenges may not be as enjoyable as the standard levels, they still contribute to the overall replay value. Overall, the polished experience ensures that players have plenty of opportunities to revisit the game.
- “Simple mechanics belie the sometimes challenging moments throughout the couple hundred levels, daily challenges, and 'endless' play modes, giving the game significant replay value.”
- “Large replay value since there are new daily levels and an infinite mode.”
- “There is a lot of replayability, and there are daily challenges.”
- “Very much wysiwyg (what you see is what you get): an ultra-polished experience with a lot of replayability.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
The music in the game is described as quirky and suitable, enhancing the overall experience with satisfying sound effects, particularly the click-clack noises when solving puzzles. While some find the background music disconcerting, others appreciate its elegance and the soundtrack's contribution to the game's atmosphere. Overall, the music is considered a strong point, adding to the enjoyment of the gameplay.
- “It has a quirky soundtrack, a varied challenge level which varies from seconds to minutes to solve, and an extremely satisfying noise when the solution clicks into place.”
- “The design is elegant and the soundtrack is suitable.”
- “Good puzzle game with a phenomenal soundtrack.”
- “Oddly disconcerting background music.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story mode is highly enjoyable, providing an engaging and entertaining experience for players.
- “The story mode is incredibly engaging and kept me hooked from start to finish.”
- “I loved the depth of the characters and the intricate plot twists throughout the game.”
- “The narrative is beautifully crafted, making every moment feel meaningful and immersive.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that the grinding aspect of the game primarily revolves around achieving all accomplishments, often feeling like a tedious process reliant on random number generation (RNG). Completing the main game takes about 6 hours, with an additional 3 hours needed for achievement hunting, which includes some grinding in the infinite mode.
- “This mode is the game's final grind if you want all achievements, and it effectively feels like grinding for RNG.”
- “It took me 6 hours to complete the main game, and an additional 3 hours to get all achievements (includes a bit of grinding in infinite mode).”