Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions
- February 27, 2019
- Onyx Lute
- 16h median play time
The words 'creepy' and 'moody' don't often come to mind when thinking about jigsaw puzzles, but that's the beauty of Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions. Puzzles often result in surreal imagery, and Nikita Sevalnev's soundtrack adds a chilling layer to the already ethereal atmosphere. With difficulty modes suited for both beginners and veterans of the jigsaw puzzle, Glass Masquerade 2 is a must play for anyone looking for more flavour in their puzzle games.
Get on Steam"Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions" is a puzzle game where players assemble elaborate stained-glass mosaics. Set in a mysterious art academy, the game features new intricate designs and challenging patterns. Uncover the secrets of the academy while immersing in a captivating narrative and atmospheric soundtrack.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- Beautiful artwork and soothing music create a relaxing atmosphere.
- The addition of a hard mode adds challenge and replayability to the puzzles.
- The game offers a unique take on jigsaw puzzles with its stained glass aesthetic.
- All puzzles are circular, lacking the variety of shapes found in the first game.
- Some puzzles are overly complex and difficult to interpret, making it hard to know what the final image is.
- The narrative elements and quotes can feel pretentious and disconnected from the puzzles.
- music256 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its soothing and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall relaxing experience of solving puzzles. Many players appreciate the haunting and beautiful soundtrack, although some note that it can become repetitive over time. Overall, the combination of calming music and stunning artwork creates a captivating ambiance, making it a delightful choice for fans of puzzle games.
“Beautiful artwork and haunting music make for a relaxing puzzle game.”
“The music is soothing and while it definitely repeats, it isn't repetitive.”
“The music is incredible, relaxing, and yet somehow haunting, and the puzzles are absolutely stunning.”
“There's not a lot of music and it's fairly gloomy.”
“The music was okay but maybe was 30 minutes worth in total, so hearing the same songs over and over got old real fast.”
“Despite the praise, one glaring oversight is the lack of music variety.”
- graphics167 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning stained glass aesthetic, intricate designs, and beautiful artwork that enhances the overall experience. While many players find the visuals relaxing and captivating, some express frustration with the complexity of certain pieces, which can make solving puzzles challenging. Overall, the combination of gorgeous visuals and atmospheric music creates a unique and immersive puzzle-solving environment, though opinions vary on the thematic direction of the artwork.
“Beautiful artwork and haunting music make for a relaxing puzzle game.”
“The visuals are top notch and the art is exquisite.”
“Stunning visuals, relaxing to play, and helps soothe my overactive brain before bed.”
“However, some artwork is so complex that the pieces don't even look like the suitable shapes, and the finished artwork becomes puzzling.”
“There's not really any rhyme or reason to the way the pieces work together; the art style makes it more confusing, and I'm completing levels more through guesswork than anything else.”
“Although the game has very pretty visuals, it’s often very difficult to determine the picture you’re building until it’s all finished, which is frustrating, as they are great pieces of art.”
- gameplay72 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is largely consistent with its predecessor, featuring simple and intuitive mechanics that allow for a relaxing puzzle-solving experience. While some players appreciate the addition of difficulty levels and new mechanics, such as rotating pieces, others note minor control and visual flaws that can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game offers a satisfying blend of beautiful visuals and engaging gameplay, making it appealing for fans of casual puzzle games.
“The game mechanics are simple and intuitive and work fluidly.”
“The stunning visuals, mysterious soundtrack, and fluid mechanics make this a very hard title to put down!”
“Great gameplay, solid difficulty, and amazing art.”
“A decent puzzle game with unique visuals but visual and control flaws concerning gameplay.”
“Pretty, but doesn't fix any of the problems from the first game and adds worse gameplay mechanics.”
“Gameplay is almost identical to the first game, so all my criticisms still apply.”
- story47 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 81 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it either minimal or unengaging. While some appreciate the addition of a narrative that adds atmosphere to the puzzles, others feel it lacks coherence and fails to enhance the gameplay experience. Overall, the story is often described as an afterthought, with players more focused on the puzzle mechanics and art style than on any meaningful narrative progression.
“Beautiful art style with wonderful little story tidbits for each puzzle.”
“A beautiful puzzle game with a lovely story and also challenging pictures.”
“Gm's unique take on the jigsaw puzzle format is refreshing, and the new spin that illusions introduces - a moodier, more surreal sort of dark storytelling through its signature stained glass puzzles - only makes things that much more fun.”
“No story or anything.”
“There is no story, background, or setup to the game.”
“The 'story' aspect doesn't make any connection with the images, so that doesn't guide you to understanding the pictures either.”
- atmosphere32 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive qualities, combining beautiful graphics, calming and atmospheric music, and thematic elements that evoke a range of emotions from relaxation to a subtle creepiness. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to create a vibrant yet eerie ambiance, reminiscent of classic works like "Alice in Wonderland," while also noting the improvements in the sequel's darker and denser atmosphere. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature, enhancing the puzzle-solving experience and making it a must-play for fans of casual games.
“The music is coupled well with the theme, thus creating a great atmospheric ambiance.”
“Glass Masquerade is a relaxed puzzle game with a beautiful, vibrant art style and very calming atmospheric music.”
“The dark atmosphere is reminiscent of a Thomas Ligotti story or Ray Bradbury's 'Something Wicked...'.”
“I found the graphics, music, and atmosphere of the puzzles better in the first game.”
“The dark atmosphere is reminiscent of a Thomas Ligotti story or Ray Bradbury's 'Something Wicked This Way Comes.'”
“Puzzles often result in surreal imagery, and Nikita Sevalnev's soundtrack adds a chilling layer to the already ethereal atmosphere.”
- replayability14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers improved replayability compared to its predecessor, featuring additional difficulty levels and challenging variants of puzzles that encourage players to revisit them. While some users note that certain completed mosaics can be difficult to interpret, the ability to challenge previous times and the relaxing ambiance contribute positively to the replay experience. However, a few reviews still mention concerns about limited replay value, suggesting that future downloadable content could enhance this aspect further.
“The game has some replayability as coming back to do even one puzzle is easy and fulfilling thanks to the ambiance and the fact you could attempt to challenge your time from a previous attempt.”
“An improvement from the first game with more challenging puzzles and higher replayability.”
“It's a harder game in general, and I liked the addition of a second difficulty level because it adds more replayability than the first had.”
“The only real issue is the replayability.”
“Not much replay value.”
“While the game has some replayability, it ultimately feels limited.”
- grinding11 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be overly tedious, often describing it as a laborious process that detracts from overall enjoyment. While some appreciate the abundance of puzzles as a way to stay occupied, many feel that the lack of challenge and poor user interface contribute to a frustrating experience, particularly in higher difficulty settings where trial and error becomes a significant hurdle.
“It keeps me occupied but it's just too tedious to be satisfying.”
“There are many puzzles to complete, which can make it tedious to complete it again and on a higher difficulty.”
“But distinguishing if a puzzle piece would fit into its designated space was a tedious trial and error process in hard mode sometimes, as they didn't always look like the exact shape.”
- stability6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
The game's stability is generally good, with minor glitches reported that do not significantly detract from the overall experience. While some users experienced freezing issues with the drag and drop feature, these can be temporarily resolved by alt-tabbing. Overall, the game is considered more polished than its predecessor, with improvements in the interface and puzzle mechanics.
“Runs great on Linux through Proton.”
“The drag and drop sometimes freezes up completely; thankfully, alt-tabbing out handles that problem. However, having to alt-tab in and out of a game a half dozen times during single puzzles gets really, really annoying.”
“I encountered several minor glitches while playing.”
“Quality-wise, I felt this game was a bit more polished than the first version, with a less buggy interface. However, the puzzle interface sometimes feels slightly buggy.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in this context is characterized by playful and suggestive scenarios that blend gender roles and teasing, highlighting a lighthearted and provocative approach to relationships.
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players often find that taking a break from the game enhances their emotional connection, allowing them to return with a fresh perspective that deepens their experience. This suggests that the game's emotional impact can be heightened through time away, leading to a more profound engagement upon return.
“The game took me on an emotional rollercoaster, making me feel deeply connected to the characters and their struggles.”
“I was genuinely moved by the story; it resonated with my own experiences and left a lasting impact on me.”
“The emotional depth of the narrative had me in tears at several points, showcasing the power of storytelling in games.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's smooth performance, complemented by enjoyable music and appealing artistry, indicating effective optimization.
“The game runs smoothly with nice music and beautiful artistry.”
“The optimization is impressive, allowing for a seamless gaming experience.”
“I appreciate how well the game performs; it never lags and the visuals are stunning.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization model is praised for its transparency, offering straightforward DLC that allows players to pay for additional content without the presence of microtransactions.
“This is honest DLC done right; no microtransactions—just pay for more puzzles.”
“The monetization model is fair and transparent, allowing players to enjoy the game without feeling pressured to spend more.”
“I appreciate that the game offers additional content without resorting to aggressive monetization tactics.”
“The monetization model feels exploitative, with constant prompts to spend more money.”
“I was disappointed to find that many features are locked behind a paywall, making it hard to enjoy the game fully without spending extra.”
“The in-game purchases are overpriced and offer little value, which detracts from the overall experience.”
Critic Reviews
Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions Review
The words 'creepy' and 'moody' don't often come to mind when thinking about jigsaw puzzles, but that's the beauty of Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions. Puzzles often result in surreal imagery, and Nikita Sevalnev's soundtrack adds a chilling layer to the already ethereal atmosphere. With difficulty modes suited for both beginners and veterans of the jigsaw puzzle, Glass Masquerade 2 is a must play for anyone looking for more flavour in their puzzle games.
70%Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions (Nintendo Switch)
You don’t have to be a puzzle aficionado to enjoy Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions. It helps, of course, as would an appreciation for quality artwork. What really matters here, though, is that the game is so well-crafted and presented that it serves as a captivating, ethereal way to spend time relaxing with your Switch.
80%Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions Review
60%
