QV

Genre: Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

QV is a character-based Puzzle game released on mobile devices and Nintendo Switch in 2020 and ported to PC in 2021. This game puts players in the role of Quby, a pigtailed girl aiming to restore balance to the dimensions by going to various levels and activating their gates.

Deep in its heart, QV has the core of a Sokoban-style game, with blocks to be pushed to solve puzzles, but there’s quite a lot of other gameplay here that builds on that foundation to the point where that’s not even really the point anymore. Mainly in each of the game’s levels you’re trying to make your way to a ground switch to activate an exit gate, then get to that gate. However, to get there’ you’ll have to move blocks onto pressure plates, use your magic paintbrush to create temporary bridges across water, and create and remove portals and doors from magic pillars. There’s enough gameplay variety here to keep things interesting throughout the game, and some really clever puzzles and level design too.

The presentation here makes use of simple but colorful 3D visuals with character designs that look like a somewhat SD-stylized take on the hand-drawn anime-style character art. It works, and looks pleasant enough, but isn’t impressive in any way. Likewise, the game’s lighthearted synthesized soundtrack fits the game’s tone quite well, but isn’t especially memorable.

When it comes to complaints, my biggest complaint is the way almost every level begins with an unskippable text intro of your character talking to themselves, and it takes a frustrating amount of time to get past this and get to the gameplay. It may not seem like much, but having to wait for a little bit not only at the beginning of each level but every time you restart a level can be agonizing. I’ll also say that I think the $15 price tag seems like it’s pushing the upper bounds of what I feel like this game is worth.

Despite these glaring flaws, QV is a solid Puzzle game that has some unique ideas and clever puzzle design. There are certainly areas where it could be improved, and in particular it desperately needs a way to skip the inane chatter of its characters, but overall Puzzle fans will find this to be an enjoyable entry in the genre.

tl;dr – QV is a character-based Puzzle game where players play as a girl restoring balance to the dimensions by going to various levels and activating their gates. The puzzle design and level design here are excellent, but the unskippable dialogue really drags down the pacing. Despite its flaws, this is a solid Puzzle game.

Grade: B-

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