Tidalis
- July 16, 2010
- Arcen Games
- 18h median play time
Get on Steam"Tidalis is an arcade puzzle game with single-player and local multi-player modes for up to 2 players. The game features a unique 'streams' mechanic where players set up chain reactions of like-colored blocks by right-clicking and dragging paths through arrows. With 20 game modes, 115 adventure levels, and various special blocks and items, Tidalis offers both casual appeal and hardcore depth."
Mac OS
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Reviews
- Tidalis features a unique 'streams' mechanic that adds depth and complexity to the traditional match-3 gameplay, making it engaging and innovative.
- The game offers a variety of modes and challenges, with a well-designed adventure mode that keeps the gameplay fresh and interesting.
- The sound design and music are praised for being immersive and enjoyable, enhancing the overall gaming experience.
- The game's interface and graphics are considered dated, with issues like poor resolution scaling and a lack of visual clarity that can detract from gameplay.
- Many players find the story and characters unappealing, often skipping cutscenes to focus on the puzzles, which can feel tedious.
- The gameplay can become repetitive and frustrating, especially when levels rely heavily on luck rather than skill, leading to a lack of satisfaction in completing challenges.
- gameplay60 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Tidalis is characterized by a unique "streams" mechanic that offers a blend of challenge and satisfaction, making it easy to learn yet difficult to master. While the game features a vast array of puzzles and varied objectives that keep levels feeling fresh, some players find the complexity and additional mechanics can lead to confusion and repetitiveness over time. Overall, the game is polished and offers a mix of frenetic and relaxed gameplay, appealing to puzzle enthusiasts despite some criticisms of its interface and certain gameplay elements.
“The core gameplay is smooth and has that easy-to-learn-hard-to-master hook that so many good puzzler games have.”
“The adventure mode level design is fantastic in its level variety and the chain mechanic looks and feels satisfying.”
“115 levels that make use of all sorts of game mechanics - you get a brilliant range of objectives from clearing a certain color, not clearing a certain color; aiming for large combos, keeping tiny combos... the variety is superb and means each level really feels quite fresh and unique - instead of just grinding the same objective over increasingly harder levels.”
“It has a bunch of different gameplay elements with different block types and stage conditions, but it honestly feels like they add nothing to the game because unfortunately none of them are fun.”
“After some hours, the gameplay got a bit repetitive, and the many different game modes did not seem so enticing anymore.”
“As a result of all of this, the gameplay feels slow, tedious, and not particularly satisfying.”
- story30 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The story in Tidalis receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it charming and silly, adding to the game's informal atmosphere, while others criticize it as poorly written and cringeworthy. Despite its shortcomings, many appreciate the relaxed gameplay and the variety of challenges within the story mode, making it enjoyable for puzzle enthusiasts. Overall, the narrative may not be a strong point, but it contributes to a comfortable and immersive experience.
“Actually really fun for a puzzle game with a story.”
“Tidalis takes place on a remote island where your goal is to solve puzzles and make your way through the story.”
“The story is silly, but adds to the informal charm - it's all very 'lovely' and the humour's dry and inoffensive.”
“While the adventure mode has great puzzle design, the actual story is awful.”
“The story is also badly written to the point of being cringeworthy.”
“The story is no saving grace, either--there's not much of one (although the way you trek across the overworld map is a nice throwback, I suppose).”
- music24 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received high praise for its exceptional quality, particularly the title track, creating a beautiful and immersive atmosphere that many players find relaxing. However, some users noted that the sound effects can become grating, especially when multiple combos trigger overlapping jingles, which can clash with the music. Overall, while the soundtrack is a standout feature, opinions on the accompanying sound effects are mixed.
“The music is exceptional (especially the title music) and, whilst some complain of the cartoony graphics, I find them to be very pleasing.”
“Finally, the background music is beautiful.”
“In fact, the only real thing that I flat-out liked about the game was the music, which is fantastic.”
“Music and sound effects are okay, but they get a little grating after a while.”
“Many of the sounds that play are little jingles, and they can be dissonant with the music depending on when they play.”
“It's especially unpleasant when you set off several combos at once, as it plays a separate instance of the sound effects for each combo, all layering on top of each other along with the music.”
- graphics12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are generally described as pleasant with a unique style, though they do not scale well to modern resolutions, appearing smaller instead. While some users appreciate the cartoony aesthetic, others note the presence of glitches and a lack of high-end visuals, likening the graphics to a Tetris/Bejeweled hybrid. The background artwork is noted for its nice and occasionally creepy elements, contributing to the overall experience.
“The game offers some pleasant graphics and graphical style; although there are some ugly glitches here and there, it is pleasant all the same.”
“The music is exceptional (especially the title music), and whilst some complain of the cartoony graphics, I find them to be very pleasing.”
“The background artwork is at turns nice and creepy.”
“Be aware that the game graphics don't scale to modern screen resolutions (it seems to be targeting 1280x720?), they just get smaller.”
“Do not expect high-end graphics.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the variety in objectives across the 115 levels, which helps to keep the gameplay feeling fresh rather than repetitive grinding. However, some find the overall experience slow and tedious, with certain achievements requiring extensive grinding for high scores, leading to a lack of satisfaction in the gameplay.
“As a result of all of this, the gameplay feels slow, tedious and not particularly satisfying.”
“One could, however, attempt to tediously line up moves in advance.”
“You're almost guaranteed an achievement your first session (there's one for winning and one for losing), and there are lots of achievements that deal in long grinding and super high scores (100 million points in a single combo?).”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is polarizing; while some players find it terrible, others appreciate its quirky and daft charm, describing it as genuinely funny with unique twists that enhance the overall experience.
“I think it's quite funny and daft in a good way.”
“A cute, quirky, really funny puzzle game with some unusual twists!”
- replayability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers level creation and multiplayer options, but these features fail to significantly enhance its replayability, with many users noting a lack of standout content and overall play value.
“You can create your own levels and there's multiplayer - but none have really seemed to stand out or show much in the way of replayability.”
“Does not have much play value, nor replay value.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game features appealing graphics and a distinctive style, but users have reported occasional glitches that detract from the overall experience.
“The game has some enjoyable graphics and a nice visual style, but it suffers from frequent and distracting glitches.”
“Despite the appealing graphics, the game is plagued by numerous stability issues that hinder the overall experience.”
“While the visuals are attractive, the game is marred by persistent bugs and crashes that make it frustrating to play.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by its comfortable and immersive quality, enhanced by cutscenes and music that may appeal to some players while being skippable for those who prefer a more relaxed experience. Overall, it provides a soothing backdrop for gameplay, though individual preferences for the story and music may vary.
“The cutscenes and music are probably a matter of taste (personally, I liked the music but skipped through most of the story), but if you want to just sit down and relax, they create a comfortable and immersive atmosphere.”
