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
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game features a unique 'streams' mechanic that adds depth and complexity to the traditional match-3 gameplay, making it engaging and challenging.
- The adventure mode offers a wide variety of levels and objectives, providing a refreshing experience that keeps the gameplay interesting.
- The sound design and music are exceptional, creating a relaxing atmosphere that enhances the overall gaming experience.
- The story and characters are poorly written and can be annoying, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- The game's interface and resolution support are outdated, leading to issues with fullscreen mode and making it visually straining for players.
- Some players find the gameplay repetitive and lacking in excitement, with a steep learning curve that may not appeal to casual gamers.
- gameplay30 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Tidalis is characterized by its unique "streams" mechanic, which offers a blend of challenge and satisfaction, though it can become complex and difficult to visualize as more mechanics are introduced. Players appreciate the variety of puzzles and objectives, which keep the experience fresh, but some find the gameplay can feel repetitive over time. Overall, the game is polished and offers a mix of frenetic and relaxed play styles, appealing to both casual and dedicated puzzle enthusiasts.
“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.”
“The streams mechanic is fairly unique and makes for interesting puzzles, both of the twitchy and the thoughtful kind.”
“The basic 'streams' mechanic to connect and remove blocks is novel and adds more challenge than typical match-3, but on the other hand, it makes combos rather hard to visualize and achieve, especially when trying to chain several ones.”
“The gameplay feels slow, tedious, and not particularly satisfying.”
“After some hours, the gameplay got a bit repetitive, and the many different game modes did not seem so enticing anymore.”
- story15 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it poorly written and cringeworthy, while others appreciate its silly charm and relaxed atmosphere. Many enjoy the integration of puzzles within the narrative, although some feel the story lacks depth and coherence. Overall, it seems to serve as a lighthearted backdrop to the gameplay, with varying opinions on its quality and engagement.
“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.”
- music12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the exceptional soundtrack and its ability to create a relaxing and immersive atmosphere. However, some players find the sound effects, particularly during combo sequences, to be dissonant and grating. Overall, while the music is often highlighted as a standout feature, its enjoyment may vary based on personal taste.
“The music is exceptional (especially the title music) and, whilst some complain of the cartoony graphics, I find them to be very pleasing.”
“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.”
“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.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are generally described as pleasant and stylistically appealing, though they do not scale well to modern resolutions, resulting in smaller visuals. While some users appreciate the cartoony aesthetic, others note the presence of glitches and a lack of high-end graphical fidelity. The background artwork is highlighted for its nice and occasionally creepy design, fitting the game's overall theme.
“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 while 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.”
- grinding4 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 and unique 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 less satisfying gameplay experience.
“As a result of all of this, the gameplay feels slow, tedious, and not particularly satisfying.”
“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?).”
“One could, however, attempt to tediously line up moves in advance.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is polarizing; while some find it terrible, others appreciate its quirky and daft charm, describing it as genuinely funny with unique twists that enhance the overall experience.
“Some people thought it was terrible, but I think it's quite funny and daft in a good way.”
“A cute, quirky, and really funny puzzle game with some unusual twists!”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
While the game offers level creation and multiplayer options, many users feel that these features do not significantly enhance replayability, resulting in limited long-term 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.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
While the game features appealing graphics and a nice visual style, players have reported occasional glitches that detract from the overall stability.
“The game has some pleasant graphics and a nice graphical style, but there are some ugly glitches that detract from the experience.”
“I frequently encounter crashes that disrupt my gameplay, making it hard to enjoy the game.”
“The stability issues are frustrating; I often experience lag and unexpected freezes during critical moments.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally described as comfortable and immersive, enhanced by its cutscenes and music, which may appeal to some players while others might find them skippable. Overall, it provides a relaxing environment for players looking to unwind.
“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.”
