High Rise - A Puzzle Cityscape

In a sea of ad-laden and substandard mobile games, High Rise is an infinitely playable and enjoyable puzzler. What really sets High Rise apart is its minimally interrupted gameplay experience. Ads occur only after losing the game, so a constant steam of advertising can’t interrupt the flow, which is a rare and welcome feature among mobile games. The option to remove ads completely is great but not critical to enjoying the game. The mechanics are simple but take many trials to master. Having refined a reliable strategy, I can play the same round for multiple days, returning to it during a TV commercial break or while commuting. With focus, I regularly score in the hundreds of thousands (resulting in very rare ad plays). A warning: If you download this game, it’s very possible that you will never remove it from your library. It’s a comforting puzzler with just enough complexity to keep you coming back year after year. It’s an incredible accomplishment by the game developers to have created a nearly perfect game. The only problem is that not enough people know about it!

High rise is an immensely engaging puzzle game. I love that even after dozens of rounds, I am still discovering new rules and combinations and strategies. It has been very satisfying watching my high score slowly improve, and always fun to try and beat my current best. I also appreciate the ease at which this game functions as either a 15 minute puzzler or 3-hour logic gauntlet (slight exaggeration) depending on personal preference. One of my few complaints is a big one, though, as it’s an accessibility problem. Too many times my game has been ruined by accidentally placing a stray block while rotating the view. I am disabled and my fingers are twitchy and clumsy. When you’re getting deep, it’s always a game ending error and it’s altogether too easy for it to happen. An undo button on a VERY short timer—or any other mechanism to help address an accidental-tap placement, I’m not a game designer— would be a massive improvement. 3.5 rounded to 4.

It’s rare to see a unique take on match 3 on the App Store, given there are so many. Yet this title has managed to twist the genre into something new and addictive. I also appreciate the one time (one dollar!) ad removal purchase. An optional ad removal is always a plus. Though I suspect ads would otherwise play after every game, which is annoying, a one dollar purchase is super cheap and the game is really addictive and frankly worth more than that dollar. Even though ads still don’t work, despite the new update, I’ll be shortly purchasing the no ads option because these devs certainly deserve it. My only complaint is the tutorial. But due to the complex nature of the game, I understand how explaining all the rules could be challenging (which is why my review remains at 5 stars). However, even with the tutorial you feel like you’re walking in blind. You’ll try to make matches which won’t work. Sometimes two smaller blocks next to a big one combine into it and sometimes they don’t. How to remove a different colored block on top of a few same colored block isn’t explained well. But, sometimes you’ll place a block next to a group of them of the same color and various heights and they’ll all combine, which gives a feeling of elation and slight confusion. It’s weird. The tutorial is short and sweet. But I think it could stand to be longer. Another suggestion is to add a “rule book” that you can look at from the pause menu. It could be a slideshow of the tutorial with pictures (pictures are important for this because descriptions aren’t enough for a game of this nature). Another suggestion is the “see the move” mechanic that titles such as Threes! employ. It’s where you press and hold on the location but don’t let go, and then you see an indication of how the move would play out. These are just a few suggestions as to how the game can improve its tutorial.