Sudoku Relax 5: Full Bloom

Genre: Sudoku Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: Due to the similarities between this game and Sudoku Relax 4: Winter Snow, I’m copying most of this review from my Sudoku Relax 4: Winter Snow review, and changing the details that have changed)

Sudoku Relax 5, like the other games in the series, is a Sudoku Puzzle game that offers 300 puzzles in the traditional Sudoku format, sorted across three levels of difficulty. It bears mention that all four of the games in this series released so far feature identical features, with the only thing to differentiate them being the unique puzzles contained within, and the presentation (with this game having a mostly light pink/purple presentation).

For those unfamiliar with Sudoku, the premise is that you are filling a 9×9 grid with numbers so that each column and row has all numbers in it and no repeating numbers, and in addition each 3×3 section within the grid also has all nine numbers and no repeating numbers. To guide you, some of the numbers will already be filled in, and you’ll be tasked with using logic to fill in the rest.

The presentation here is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, the puzzles themselves look fantastic, with the game highlighting important information and using subtle effects to improve the gameplay. However, the backgrounds feel a bit basic, and the animations can even be distracting at times. Also, the music is repetitive and cloying, and while the game offers three different (very similar) display modes and three different songs, they must be unlocked to access them, which is frustrating.

As for how the game plays, this game has quite possibly the best controls I’ve ever encountered in a Sudoku game, both with traditional controls and using the touchscreen, making the task of filling out puzzles nearly effortless… too effortless, in fact. This game automates and streamlines so much that it has the effect of killing the game’s difficulty.

In most Sudoku games, you’ll be warned if you enter a duplicate number, but here, you’re prevented from doing so outright, and you’re also kept from making notes that conflict as well. On top of that, when you write in an answer, your notes are automatically cleaned up for you rather than making you do it. And when you shift from one number to another, all of the corresponding number and the corresponding notes you’ve made are highlighted, even greying out 3×3 sections that have that number in it.

I feel like you would need to actually try to make a mistake in this game, and even on the game’s most difficult puzzles, I found myself breezing through them in under 10 minutes, when in other versions of Sudoku, some of the most devious puzzles can have me working on them for upwards of an hour. Suffice it to say, this game feels like playing Sudoku with the training wheels on, and when you complete a puzzle, there simply isn’t the same feeling of accomplishment other Sudoku games have.

It’s a shame Sudoku Relax 5’s enhancements make it so damn easy, because the control scheme for this version of Sudoku is wonderful. But the game is seriously lacking options, has a presentation that’s kinda’ a mixed bag, and the lack of a challenge here really kills my enthusiasm to keep playing this version of the game. However, beginners looking for an easy way to get into Sudoku should definitely give this game a look.

One final note to tack on here. We are currently five games into this series, and with the exception of the visuals, absolutely nothing of note has changed here. No new features, no expanded puzzles, no new options. This series has become about as lazy and predictable as a videogame series can get. I would mark it down for being as lazy as it is, except that it’s not any worse than prior installments, and I’m certain that those who enjoyed the earlier games will enjoy this one. After all, why wouldn’t they? It’s the same game.

tl;dr – Sudoku Relax 5, like the other games in the series, is a Sudoku Puzzle game with 300 unique puzzles and a slightly-different presentation (this game’s is light pink/purple). This game has some of the best controls of any videogame Sudoku game I’ve played, but unfortunately it also automates so much of the process that it feels like playing the game with training wheels on. The result is a game that’s perfect for beginners, but veteran Sudoku players will feel like the game completely lacks a challenge.

Grade: C

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2020 Game Awards:

Winner:

Laziest Copycat – For the fifth game in a row, this series has changed absolutely nothing of note except the puzzles in the game, and minor elements of the presentation. It has gotten so bad that two of the Sudoku Relax games made this list this year (along with two of the Picross S games, which have a similar problem), and the only reason Sudoku Relax 5 edges out the fourth game is because it’s one number higher and yet still nothing has changed. At the very least the Picross S series can lay claim to being the best of its kind on the Switch. But Sudoku Relax 5 is a frustrating game that features exactly the same problems that all its predecessors had – it automates so much of the process that it essentially solves the puzzles for you. And the most frustrating thing is… I can already predict that Sudoku Relax 6 (and possibly Sudoku Relax 7) will be nominated for this award next year…

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