Yankai's Peak
- July 13, 2017
- Kenny Sun
- 9h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Apple Store"Yankai's Peak" is a tactile, meditative puzzle game featuring over 130 levels of pyramid-pushing action. Each level explores a unique mechanic, challenging players to solve increasingly complex puzzles. With no IAP, immersive sound design, and taptic feedback, this game offers a satisfying, handcrafted experience for fans of puzzle games. .
iPad
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Mac OS
PC
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Mobile Platform
Tablet
Reviews
- Innovative puzzle mechanics that creatively reinterpret the Sokoban genre on a triangular grid, providing a unique and engaging experience.
- Excellent level design with a good variety of challenges, ensuring that each level introduces new mechanics without feeling repetitive.
- Visually appealing with a minimalist aesthetic, complemented by a relaxing soundtrack that enhances the overall gameplay experience.
- The control scheme can be cumbersome and takes time to get used to, leading to frustration during the initial stages of the game.
- There are reports of save data being deleted, which can significantly impact the player's experience and progress.
- Some players found the difficulty curve to be uneven, with certain levels feeling too easy after mastering the mechanics.
- gameplay85 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by innovative mechanics and clever level design that gradually introduces new concepts, making for a satisfying puzzle experience. While the controls and mechanics can be initially confusing and awkward, players find that mastering them leads to enjoyable and engaging challenges. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of traditional and novel puzzle elements, though some players feel there is room for deeper exploration of its mechanics.
“The levels are unique, compact, and logical, with no filler levels. They are well-made easier levels that introduce each new mechanic.”
“The puzzles are all well-thought-out, exploring every way mechanics are utilized, and are appropriately challenging.”
“The gameplay was difficult to get used to, but once I got comfortable, it became a joy to play.”
“The first few levels I couldn't really grasp how things move; I solved them more by trial and error, but that became impossible once the harder levels rolled in, since they require a thorough understanding of the game mechanics.”
“Unfortunately, the resulting game mechanics are awkward, and are made worse by poor controls where the player has to select the corner on which the piece will rotate.”
“I've played lots of puzzle games over the years, but rarely have I started out so confused by the mechanics as here.”
- graphics26 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a beautiful, minimalist art style that complements its clever puzzle design and gameplay mechanics. While the visuals are generally praised for their simplicity and effectiveness, some players noted that the abstract aesthetics may not appeal to everyone. Overall, the graphics enhance the gaming experience, emphasizing the tension and satisfaction of solving puzzles.
“Yankai's Peak is a gem of ingenuity, with perfectly crafted levels and very intuitive but deep mechanics, accompanied by a beautiful minimalistic art style.”
“Graphics and sound neatly emphasize the tension and release of solving a puzzle: pyramids on their destination tiles shake in anticipation, and when the final piece is in place, everything shatters for your victory.”
“Overall, a great, peaceful puzzle game, with almost minimalistic graphic design and the ability to make the player feel smart after completing its levels.”
“The design is abstract, but personally I didn't find it particularly elegant.”
“I thought this would just be another puzzle game with okay graphics and moderate difficulty puzzles, but this is way better.”
“Overall, a great, peaceful puzzle game, with almost minimalistic graphic design.”
- music12 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for its quality, with many reviewers highlighting its relaxing and sublime nature, which enhances the overall experience. The soundtrack complements the stylish visuals, creating an engaging atmosphere, though some note an ominous tone in certain tracks. Overall, the combination of great music and sound effects significantly contributes to the game's appeal.
“However, the very stylish presentation, bright bold colors and relaxing music makes for a great experience, as does the good number of levels and difficulty.”
“This game is amazing, the vivid visual effects, astonishing; the music and sound effects, sublime; the hard yet not (usually) too demanding level design, ingenious; and the gradual additions of new game mechanics, perfect.”
“Terrific music and sounds.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is criticized for poor performance, including frequent freezing and various bugs, such as issues with the undo function and recognition of piece positions. Overall, these technical shortcomings significantly detract from the user experience.
“The game suffers from terrible performance issues, occasionally freezing, and is plagued by several bugs, such as undos failing to restore lost pieces and final positions not being recognized.”
“The game's optimization is severely lacking, leading to frequent freezes and bugs that disrupt gameplay, including undos that don't work and pieces that aren't recognized in their final positions.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is limited due to the absence of user-designed levels, resulting in players primarily revisiting the same environments without significant variation or new experiences.
“There aren't user-designed levels, so replay value amounts to revisiting the same levels.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find that while many abstract minimalist puzzle games can be tedious and lack creativity, Yankai's Peak stands out as a more engaging option, suggesting that its grinding elements are less burdensome and more rewarding.
