Art Style: Base 10

Genre: Falling Block Puzzle

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local Wireless), Download Play Supported

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Review:

Art Style: Base 10 (known in other regions as Art Style: CODE) is a Falling Block Puzzle game released on the Nintendo DSi via the DSiWare service in 2009 and then grandfathered into the Nintendo 3DS eShop when that system was released. This game has players swapping numbers as they fall across the screen, trying to create lines that equal 10 to clear them.

The presentation in this game is very dry, using mostly monochrome visuals without any decoration, and only occasional use of red to highlight some of the numbers that pop up. This is backed by a fairly minimal soundtrack. Overall, this game’s presentation is simple, basic, and bland.

This seems somewhat strange, because the gameplay itself is surprisingly creative. Players hold the Nintendo 3DS sideways, book-style, and use the touchscreen for all game interaction. Numbers fall onto the screen from left to right, and players must swap adjacent numbers to try to create rows or columns that add up to 10 to clear them.

This in itself would make for a pretty engaging take on the Falling Block Puzzle formula, but what makes Art Style particularly interesting is the way that every time you move a number, it flips it to be a mirror-reversed version of what it was based on how that number would be written out by a calculator. Move a 2 and it transforms into a 5. Move a 9 upside-down and sideways and it becomes a 6. And naturally, 8 is unchanging. Somewhat deviously, flipped versions of numbers like 4 and 7 become unrecognizable as numbers, and must be flipped back before they can be cleared.

While this might make things a bit difficult,players have a number of tools to help make things easier. First, occasionally red numbers will fall that cannot be moved at all but, if cleared, they will clear from the board all other matching numbers. And secondly, players can chain together numbers so long as each link in the chain results in a match of 10 – start a 5-5 clearing and you can chain one of those 5s in a different direction to pair with a 2-2-1 to clear even more. You can keep it going too, clearing one of those 2s with a 3-3-2 to match it with. All of these chains need to be in line with the numbers they’re making use of in the chain, but players with a keen eye will be able to set up some impressive combos here.

Ultimately, with its bland presentation and gameplay that involves… ~gulp~… math… Art Style: Base 10 is not going to be a game for everyone. However, Puzzle Game fans should absolutely snatch this game up before it leaves the Nintendo 3DS eShop in March 2023, as this is a superb entry in the genre well worth playing.

tl;dr – Art Style: Base 10 is a Falling-Block Puzzle game that has players clearing rows and columns by moving numbers around and creating chains that equal 10. This game’s bland presentation and math-based gameplay will be a turn-off for some players, but Puzzle Game fans should absolutely be sure to pick it up before the Nintendo 3DS eShop closes in March 2023, as this game is a delight.

Grade: B

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