Enigmo Explore manages to be challenging and relaxing at the same time
If you're an old-school App Store gamer, there's a good chance you've run across an Enigmo title in the past. The physics puzzle franchise has been making waves on iDevices almost as long as Angry Birds, and its initial release on PC dates back over a decade. Now a partnership with iOS developers Team Chaos has produced Enigmo Explore -- which is arguably the best title in the series to date.
As in past Enigmo titles, your task is to manage a seemingly endless stream of dripping liquid, directing it to a vessel located somewhere else in the level. You are given various tools with which to accomplish your goal -- like platforms that can bounce or redirect the flow and sponges that soak up liquid from all directions and cause it to drip downward.
Manipulating these tools in 3D space makes up the bulk of the gameplay, and the variety of their effects on the liquid means that there are a virtually endless number of ways to solve each puzzle. You can make things needlessly complex if you really wanted to, but doing so kind of defeats the point.
The levels range from stupidly simple to mind-bogglingly complex, with every degree in between well represented. A timer begin at the start of each challenge and slowly ticks away. Besting a stage quickly will earn you more points, but you're not really punished for taking your time, which helps add to the zen vibe of the game.
Enigmo has always been about relaxation, and Enigmo Explore is no different. Soft music and pleasant sound effects turn even the toughest levels into pleasant challenges, and frustration is always kept to a minimum. At US$1.99 for over 100 fantastic levels with endless replayability (and no in-app purchases), it's a great way to chill.
