Crooked Path

Easy to pick up, challenging but not to the point of being impossible

I'm a sucker for puzzle games and I was really excited for this one. The game looks beautiful and has a calming soundtrack, but becomes frustrating very quickly. You never know which direction your character is going to turn. There are white coins on the map not sure if you're suppose to collect them or not but many lead to death. Some maps have switches that open new paths, and the second you click a switch you fall off the map. By the time you reach the end of a level it feels like more of a chore, rather than feeling a sense of accomplishment. I do enjoy challenging puzzle games , but with poor level design and random controls I can't find enjoyment in this. Update to 1 star I have never paid for an app and still get ads. Really annoying, most apps you pay for will remove the ads.

This review is middling-to-fair that, while this is more effective than meditation apps for mindfulness, the ads are too distracting sometimes to play. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to most games. I will restart levels for the smallest of mistakes. Because most games seem to have a taunting set-up, 'this EASY level took you THIRTY tries??' This game stands calmly and gently opposed to that. Mistakes are welcome, encouraged, and rewarded. The glowing cubes to collect often are along the wrong path. The option of skipping a level is only there as a reminder that, it's okay if you're frustrated, you can try again later. The level design is exactly how this succeeds in what meditation apps can't for me. There is something unknown out there. You can't see the whole level. You have to engage and explore and, even if you anticipate something, you can easily see how you do or don't "succeed in completing" whatever task you were attempting. I know that the developers probably can't control exactly what kind of ads they have, but the game would be much better if they didn't flash. It's fair and understandable that they're there, which is why I rated a 4 rather than say a 3. (I was recommended this on an article of pricey but currently free apps. The ads being there surprised me as the app prices tended to be $3-5.)