Hextones

Genre: Puzzle

Players: 1, Online Leaderboards

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Review:

Hextones is a Puzzle game released on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2021. In this game, players place down hexagonal tiles in a hexagonal grid, matching either their color or symbol to adjacent tiles, with the goal being to place as many tiles as possible, and to have as many of them adjacent to as many other tiles as you can manage to fit them.

The presentation in Hextones is extremely simple, yet very appealing. The game has a spacey theme, and the tiles themselves are represented by simple 3D objects, which works well enough for the gameplay. Clearly there’s nothing here that’s going to blow anyone away, but it looks clean and has enough color to be interesting. This is paired with peaceful, new age-y music that makes for a very relaxing experience.

When it comes to the gameplay, placing tiles in an efficient manner is pretty compelling, and I found myself restarting multiple times when I had a new idea about a better way to arrange everything on the hexagonal grid. It’s not exactly clear what the best strategy to approach the game is, but it’s fun nonetheless trying to aim for a higher score by creating a more tightly-packed pattern of tiles. I should note that this game’s controls work wonderfully regardless of whether you’re using traditional gamepad controls or touchscreen controls.

Beyond the unclear strategy, my complaints here are mainly about what this game lacks. There’s no multiplayer beyond a leaderboard, no alternate grids to play on, no option to play a timed game, no real variety to speak of. While the gameplay here is definitely replayable and this game has a very “zen” atmosphere that makes it one you’ll likely want to come back to, there’s not much variety to the experience beyond the random order the tiles are given to you. Still, for $3, it’s really hard to complain.

Still, while it may lack options and content, and the strategy may not be perfectly clear, Hextones manages to be a wonderfully relaxing Puzzle game with compelling gameplay that will keep you coming back, and the $3 price tag makes this a game that Puzzle game fans will absolutely want to snatch up..

tl;dr – Hextones is a Puzzle game where players place hexagonal tiles trying to fit them as tightly as possible while matching their colors and symbols. This game features simple, compelling gameplay and a wonderfully calming presentation, and while there’s a disappointing lack of options and features, the $3 price tag makes this a no-brainer for Puzzle game fans.

Grade: B+

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