Puzzle Dating
- September 14, 2017
- M. Hanka
Get on Steam"Puzzle Dating" is a stylish and relaxed matchmaking game that values smooth gameplay and pleasant visuals. It's an independent and casual experience, complete with interactive sound effects. If you're looking for a charming puzzle game to add to your collection, "Puzzle Dating" might just be the one for you.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a relaxing and minimalistic presentation, making it visually appealing and easy to pick up.
- Puzzle Dating offers a unique twist on the match-3 genre, requiring strategic thinking and planning several moves ahead.
- It's a quick and casual game that can be enjoyed in short sessions, making it a good time killer for puzzle enthusiasts.
- The dating aspect feels superficial and tacked on, with minimal interaction or meaningful progression.
- Gameplay can be frustrating due to luck-based mechanics and randomly generated boards that may lead to unwinnable situations.
- The game lacks depth and variety, leading to repetitive gameplay that may not hold players' attention for long.
- gameplay42 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized as simplistic and repetitive, lacking depth in story and character progression, which may disappoint those seeking a more complex experience. While it features a unique mechanic allowing players to shift entire rows or columns, the overall mechanics are frustrating and poorly explained, leading to a sense of trial-and-error. Despite being a chill match-3 game with some interesting elements, it ultimately fails to offer substantial gameplay variety or engaging dating simulator features.
“The puzzle mechanic is easy and difficult depending on the board spawn.”
“Luckily, this game has a game mechanic that I haven't encountered in other 3-in-a-row games: you can shift an entire row or column at the cost of just one move.”
“I thoroughly enjoy the core mechanics of the game; I just wish there was more.”
“The gameplay is very repetitive.”
“Your dates have no personality and have minimal impact on the gameplay.”
“The mechanics are frustrating, since the +1 turn bonuses seem to drop randomly from 4+ matches.”
- music18 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The music in the game is characterized by a repetitive 30-second loop that many players find soothing yet ultimately annoying due to its lack of variety. While the ambient quality of the track is noted as pleasant, the inability to adjust or turn off the game music has led to frustration among users, who express a desire for more dynamic sound options. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as competent but lacking in depth and engagement.
“All in all, the music was soothing.”
“It’s pleasant, ambient, and will instantly bring to mind royalty-free music websites.”
“I think, ultimately, and much to my own surprise, the one thing that gets me twitching irritably about this game is the fact the music never changes, ever.”
“While it is a competent presentation, and a good puzzler with a nice but not too harsh challenge, the theme is strange and unnecessary, and the 30-second music loop makes it unbelievably annoying.”
“There seems to be one very short song that plays on a loop.”
- graphics15 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are described as visually appealing with smooth aesthetics, but opinions vary significantly on the art style, with some finding the character designs too similar and lacking distinct features. Additionally, the absence of resolution options and graphics tweaks has been criticized, especially for a PC game, suggesting a lack of polish expected by gamers. Overall, while the aesthetics are enjoyable, they may not meet the high standards of visual quality typically associated with PC gaming.
“Its aesthetics are a feast for the eyes, featuring a user-friendly interface that shepherds you through your dating escapades.”
“Relaxing match 3 game with smooth aesthetics.”
“Nice aesthetics and fun.”
“I didn't like the art style and both male and female 'daters' look largely the same; there weren't many distinguishing features other than sticking a moustache on a few guys, and the women were very androgynous.”
“There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
“Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game, having the graphics phoned in like this isn't going to result in a high quality, visually impressive game that PC gamers are used to seeing.”
- story9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and progression, with many users noting that it features no overarching narrative and is primarily focused on simple match-3 gameplay. Players find the experience to be overly simplistic, with repetitive mechanics and minimal plot development. Overall, the absence of a compelling story detracts from the game's potential for engagement.
“It is super simplistic with no story or gameplay development at all.”
“There's no overarching story, just scored puzzles and achievements to unlock.”
“One new date after another, no story, no progression.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is primarily represented through the smiley-faced wild card that players earn by making matches of four or more tiles, which adds a playful element to gameplay. However, many users feel that the actual in-game humor is lacking compared to the amusing product description, suggesting a missed opportunity for more comedic elements within the game itself.
“I still find the product description to be pretty funny.”
“If only we had some of that humor in the game too.”
“Making matches of 4 or more tiles in a row counts as 'humor' and will give you a smiley-faced wild card which can connect with every color and even grant you an extra move if you play them.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is generally rated low, with multiple users giving it a score of 4 out of 10, indicating that there are limited incentives or variations to encourage players to revisit the game after completing it.
“Replayability is severely lacking; once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to return.”
“After finishing the main story, I found no compelling reasons to replay the game. It feels like a one-and-done experience.”
“The game offers minimal variation in gameplay on subsequent playthroughs, making it hard to justify replaying.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users are highly impressed by the game's ability to effectively correlate characters' personalities with their emotional states, enhancing the overall emotional depth and engagement of the experience.
“Wow, I am beyond impressed at how personalities correlate to their emotional meters.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Many users appreciate grinding in games as a relaxing and mellow experience, finding enjoyment in the repetitive nature of these tasks.
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that Gamemaker Studio is often associated with the creation of low-effort, retro-style games that prioritize profit over quality, leading to a perception of it being a platform for "shovelware" and cash grabs.
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is primarily focused on enhancing the visual experience and strategic elements, rather than offering deep gameplay mechanics. Players appreciate the vibrant color matching and strategic aspects, which are well-executed within the game's framework.
“The game suffers from severe optimization issues, leading to frustrating lag and long loading times.”
“I often experience frame drops and stuttering, which detracts from the overall gameplay experience.”
“Despite its potential, the lack of proper optimization makes it nearly unplayable on lower-end devices.”
