The Shape of Things

Genre: Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

The Shape of Things is a family-friendly Puzzle game released on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2023. In this game, players are presented with three-dimensional objects that have been segmented into multiple pieces, and they are tasked with reassembling those pieces to recreate the object.

Each of the pieces you’ll be interacting with has been altered in one way – its size has changed, its orientation has been spun around on one axis, or it has been moved along one axis. You’re only able to interact with each piece in the way that it has been altered, making it more straightforward how to piece it together with the rest, but it can still be a tad tricky, especially when the jumbled mess of pieces leaves you uncertain what it is exactly that you’re rebuilding.

Despite that you’re interacting with an object in three dimensions, the controls here work pretty well – players use L and R to shift between the different pieces, can use the right analog stick to manipulate the selected piece, or use the left analog stick to rotate the entire object to get a better view.

My main issue with the gameplay here is that it often seems like you need to get everything just right to complete a puzzle, which can have you searching for that one piece that’s just a tiny bit too out of place with the others. This can be a bit annoying, but it doesn’t ruin the overall experience.

In fact, as a whole, The Shape of Things is quite relaxing, and this is in part thanks to its nice visuals, which use simple 3D with a soft look to it to present some really cozy scenes. However, more than the visuals, the soft new agey music here is absolutely lovely. I particularly like the main piano theme, The Shape of Things, but The Shape of Spring, The Shape of Daylight, The Shape of Clouds, and The Shape of Summer are all also excellent. This game’s soundtrack is absolutely one of those where I could see you popping headphones on and just letting the soothing sounds ease you to sleep at night.

Overall, The Shape of Things takes a simple Puzzle game premise and does it well, with accessible gameplay, a relaxed atmosphere with a beautiful soundtrack, and a nice price point of $7 all combine to make this a winner for anyone looking to add a “cozy” Puzzle game to their collection. The way shapes require you to get everything lined up juuuuust right can detract from the otherwise relaxing experience, but despite this flaw, this is overall a wonderful entry in the genre.

tl;dr – The Shape of Things is a Puzzle game where players must reassemble 3D objects by manipulating each of their pieces. The gameplay here is highly accessible, the presentation is appealing, and the music is wonderfully soothing. My biggest problem here is that the precision needed to correctly complete each puzzle is a bit exacting in a way that seems to run counter to the otherwise relaxed presentation here. Otherwise, this is an excellent Puzzle game.

Grade: B-

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