Energy Balance

Genre: Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

Energy Balance is an odd little game. It’s a puzzle game with the puzzles coming in the form of math problems. In essence, this is like a cross between a crossword puzzle and a math test.

Now, there are some people who absolutely love number games, and I’m among them. However, I know that many are not, and if that first paragraph didn’t appeal to you, this game probably isn’t for you. If, on the other hand, you like playing with numbers… well, read on.

Here’s the thing, math is inherently a dry subject, and while the idea here is interesting, what it really needs is a great presentation to take away from its dryness. On that front, Energy Balance fails miserably. The game has a clean presentation but not an enticing one, and at times it’s downright ugly. On top of that, the game’s music is not very pleasing to listen to, with depressing melodies that sound better-suited to a post-apocalyptic game than an exciting math adventure. Finally, the game’s levels are interspersed with a completely unnecessary story about a space… cat… thing (no, not a cute cat, either) that’s overly long and not worth the time it takes to read.

With a different presentation, this game would have still been very niche, but as-is, only the most diehard of math nerds will love it.

tl;dr – Energy Balance is a math puzzle game about moving around numbers to fit the puzzle’s requirements. It’s a decent, albeit niche, premise, but it’s one that has all the joy sapped out of it by a dour and unappealing presentation.

Grade: C-

Note: For those wondering, this is the first review ever written on eShopperReviews, all the way back when it was just a community on another website. It was originally posted on Saturday, June 29, 2019. My, we’ve come a long way, haven’t we!

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