Glass Masquerade
- February 8, 2019
- Onyx Lute
- 5h median play time
Onyx Lute's Glass Masquerade is a good puzzler on Steam, proving that a simple pleasure is perhaps the best way to go sometimes.
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Glass Masquerade" is a relaxing, puzzle-based game that challenges players to assemble beautifully illustrated glass masks by matching intricate puzzle pieces. With over 25 stained-glass mosaics to complete, players will discover various historical and cultural references within each design. The game features a soothing soundtrack and an immersive atmosphere, making it an excellent choice for those seeking a peaceful, engaging experience.
Reviews
- Beautiful and well-designed graphics that enhance the puzzle experience.
- Relaxing gameplay with soothing music, making it a great way to unwind.
- Unique stained glass art style adds a refreshing twist to traditional jigsaw puzzles.
- Puzzles can be too short, with only 25 main puzzles and additional content locked behind DLC.
- Some pieces do not visually fit their designated spots due to thick outlines, leading to confusion.
- The interface can be clunky, making it difficult to navigate through the pieces and sometimes causing accidental selections.
- music594 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and calming qualities, enhancing the overall relaxing experience of solving puzzles. However, many users note that the soundtrack can become repetitive due to its limited variety, which may detract from longer play sessions. Overall, the combination of soothing music and stunning visuals creates an immersive atmosphere, making it a delightful choice for puzzle enthusiasts seeking a tranquil gaming experience.
“The soothing new age music accompanies your artistic endeavor, creating a calming atmosphere.”
“Beautiful artwork and music sets this somewhat tricky jigsaw puzzle game apart from the crowd.”
“The music is absolutely beautiful, my girlfriend was watching me play the other day and now we will most likely head to the composer's official website and buy the soundtrack.”
“The music becomes boring after a while; there is not enough variation.”
“The limited number of tracks broadly incorporate musical themes and stereotypes from different geographic areas, which is conceptually a nice touch, but only helps to emphasize the monotony when multiple successive puzzles share the same backing track.”
“If you're playing several consecutive sessions, I'd advise turning off the music as it gets quite annoying due to its repetitive nature.”
- graphics374 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Glass Masquerade" are widely praised for their stunning stained glass artwork and unique art deco aesthetic, creating a visually captivating experience. Players appreciate the beautiful visuals and soothing soundtrack, which enhance the relaxing nature of the puzzle-solving gameplay. However, some reviewers note that the art style can occasionally make it difficult to discern how pieces fit together, impacting the overall puzzle experience.
“The stained glass aesthetic makes for some interesting puzzle shapes, and both the music and art are top notch.”
“Absolutely exquisite visuals, very relaxing.”
“The artwork is beautiful too!”
“While being aesthetically pleasing, the gameplay is a dealbreaker with tiny images and blank pieces you have to rotate and fit while they are bigger than the gap you are supposed to put them into.”
“This in itself is bad enough, but considering everything has a brass/copper sheen to it, the art style of the puzzles themselves typically have a very close color palette, the outlines tend to blend in and give the overall impression that matching shapes don't at all match despite the game accepting the placement as correct.”
“I agree totally that the only major difficulty is that fairly frequently pieces don't look like they fit, but it's more a matter of the scale of the graphics than some actual 'trick'.”
- gameplay146 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is generally described as simple and straightforward, primarily revolving around solving jigsaw puzzles with aesthetically pleasing visuals and soothing music. While many players appreciate the relaxing nature and solid mechanics, some express frustration with minor bugs and the lack of depth or variety in gameplay, leading to a relatively short overall experience. Overall, the game is enjoyable for casual puzzle enthusiasts, but it may not satisfy those seeking more complex mechanics or extended playtime.
“The aesthetic, music, and gameplay combine seamlessly to create an experience that's both enchanting and relaxing.”
“Beautiful graphics, smooth controls, fun puzzles, great gameplay... I couldn't stop playing until I finished it.”
“The gameplay is very simple; you click on a piece to select it and you can place it on the board, if you click on the correct area, the piece will stay there permanently, bringing you one step closer to completion.”
“While being aesthetically pleasing, the gameplay is a dealbreaker with tiny images and blank pieces you have to rotate and fit while they are bigger than the gap you are supposed to put them into.”
“However, the gameplay is actually not very good; except for the puzzles, there is no other content in the game, and overall its artistry is much greater than its gameplay.”
“I'm not sure how many puzzles there are, or if the pieces are randomized at all, but those are not big issues since there looks to be a lot of gameplay here.”
- atmosphere41 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "Glass Masquerade" is widely praised for its calming and immersive qualities, enhanced by soothing new age music and vibrant art. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to create a relaxing environment that invites players to unwind while solving puzzles, with many noting the beautiful visuals and fitting soundtrack as key elements that contribute to its enchanting ambiance. Overall, the game is described as a beautifully crafted experience that fosters a sense of tranquility and enjoyment.
“The atmosphere the developers create is very calming with soothing audio and breathtaking visuals.”
“Here's my advice to you, grab a coffee or some tea, dim the lights, put on your headphones and just relax.. this game is beautifully crafted, the sound and the visuals all play a significant role in creating an atmosphere of mystifying calmness.”
“Mechanics-wise it's a very simple puzzle game, but it's so finely crafted that it emanates a magical, inspiring and calming atmosphere that is a joy to experience.”
“The atmosphere the developers create is very calming with soothing audio and breathtaking visuals.”
“It's a simple game with intuitive controls, a relaxing atmosphere, and with nothing to get in the way of the colourful stained glass pictures that come to life as you piece them together.”
“Mechanics-wise it's a very simple puzzle game, but it's so finely crafted that it emanates a magical, inspiring and calming atmosphere that is a joy to experience.”
- replayability38 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed, with many players noting it is relatively low due to its short length and limited puzzle variety. Some users appreciate the calming experience and the ability to replay puzzles for better times, especially with the addition of DLCs that enhance replay value. However, the lack of alternate gameplay modes and a randomized puzzle option leaves many feeling that replayability could be significantly improved.
“Cozy, gorgeous, relaxing, and replayable.”
“Just finished the game, so it's not super long, but I got 4-5 good length sessions out of it, and in a few months when I forget all the puzzles, I'm sure it'll be replayable.”
“The game has some replay value since the puzzles are timed.”
“Although, to be honest, this game doesn't have hardly any replay value for me.”
“Unfortunately, there really is no replayability (unless you have a very short memory).”
“As most people have mentioned, however, it is a bit on the short side, with relatively low replayability.”
- story24 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its minimal presence, with many reviewers noting that it lacks depth or significance, often serving merely as a backdrop for the puzzles. While some appreciate the charming art style that conveys a simple narrative, others find the storyline either pointless or non-existent, making it clear that the focus is primarily on gameplay rather than storytelling. Overall, players seeking a rich narrative experience may be disappointed, as the game prioritizes puzzles over plot.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“The art style is amazing and the small storyline behind why you're doing what you're doing is really cute.”
“The controls are simple and the art tells a story within itself, and it's very charming.”
“There is no story, background, or setup to the game.”
“There isn’t any real story or context to this game (at least no context which really matters).”
“The storyline is so pointless, that even being just two title cards it is still distracting and pointless.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 88 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while the puzzles can be enjoyable and visually appealing, they often become tedious and repetitive as difficulty increases. Many reviewers express a desire for a more balanced challenge, as the trial-and-error nature of finding piece placements can lead to frustration rather than relaxation. Overall, the game may not appeal to those who dislike repetitive tasks or find puzzles overly challenging.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“It's not for people that find puzzles tedious, nor is it for those that find joy in tediously assembling a hundred identical pieces and feel that starting from the edge and corner pieces is 'cheap'.”
“I wish the game was a little bit easier as it is more tedious than relaxing at the highest difficulty.”
“This leads to a tedious trial-and-error routine of picking up each available piece in succession, reacquainting yourself with its size, and trying to see if there's anywhere it obviously fits.”
- stability5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Overall, players report a generally stable experience with the game, noting beautiful visuals and minimal glitches. However, some users have encountered bugs, particularly with the DLC and mouse functionality, which can lead to unresponsive elements.
“The visuals are quite beautiful, I found no glitches, and some of the stages did give me a small bit of challenge.”
“The game runs smoothly without any crashes, making for a seamless experience.”
“I appreciate how stable the gameplay is; I never encountered any bugs that disrupted my enjoyment.”
“Good game, beautiful clocks, but the DLC seems a bit buggy.”
“I also found it to be a bit buggy; it really didn't like my mouse, and often elements would become unclickable until I alt-tabbed out, clicked on something else, then came back in.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game evokes a strong sense of emotional well-being, with users highlighting its wholesome and relaxing atmosphere, enhanced by immersive music and satisfying sound effects. While generally uplifting, some elements, like the corrida theme, may detract from the overall positive experience.
“The puzzling experience is very wholesome and relaxing thanks to the glass sounds when picking up shards and all the wonderful motives.”
“Very wholesome, minus the corrida one from Spain. The music that slightly changes for every continent makes for a very immersive ambiance.”
“It made me feel better :)”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of funny and cute moments, with players finding enjoyment in the quirky matching of country pictures. Additionally, specific mini-games, like the "funny glass game," are highlighted as particularly hilarious, resonating well with players from different backgrounds.
“I thought that the matching of country pictures was sometimes funny, sometimes cute, but always enjoyable.”
“Funny glass game”
“Pretty hilarious, as an Irish person who loves Iceland.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its excellent optimization, featuring smooth performance, user-friendly interfaces, and appealing music and sound effects.
“Beautiful, runs smoothly, with good interfaces, nice music, and sound effects.”
