Flow Free: Challenging and addictive color route matching puzzler
Puzzle games and smart mobile devices have had a mutually inclusive relationship right from the start of when color touch screens began hitting the shelves of mobile phone stores. This was largely due to the popularity of puzzle games generated from Nintendo’s line of Brain training games as well as Professor Layton games which merged entertaining story telling with puzzle solving. I first saw Flow Free’s puzzle concept in a version of Professor Layton. At the time I was disappointed to find that only a couple of these puzzles were featured and am now pleased to find out that Big Duck Games have taken this concept and brought it to Android.
Gameplay: In Flow Free you are tasked with using the grid space to match up the pairs of colored dots. To do this you simply drag from one dot to the other dot using the grid space available. Once you have used up a space you cannot use it again. The level is complete when all the colored dots have been paired. Finally to maximise on points you need to use all the available squares in the grid.
Simple puzzle games are the most addictive and FLow Free is no exception. Its simplicity is its best feature as it takes no time at all to understand and start solving the puzzles. The puzzle start off very easy and become increasingly difficult as the grid size and number of colors increase. To match a color you simply need to start your drag from on the colored dots and draw along the grid, an appropriately colored line traces your route until a successful match is completed. What’s nice is that the app will automatically clear any previous route if you want to cut through earlier attempts.
Flow Free doesn’t gain any stars in the graphics department as it’s pretty minimalist to say the least. However the presentation is clean and crisp which doesn’t detract it away from its core offering, the puzzles. Sound and music has also gone the same approach as the presentation, with no music and some water drop sound effects when colors connect and disconnect.
Flow Free features over 300 levels and 2 play modes, normal and time trial. I normal mode is split into the regular pack and jumbo pack which is intended for tablets however found that the normal pack which features grid sizes up to 9×9 a little on the easy side. It was only on the 11×11 grids that I started to feel challenged. Luckily there is nothing stopping you playing the jumbo pack on your phone even if it is intended for tablets.
Verdict: 3.5/5 Flow Free is a challenging and addictive puzzle game. Its simplicity is its greatest strength as well as its weakness as the game does get a little tiresome after levels and levels of the same thing. It would have been nice to have seen some more interesting aspects in its gameplay as well as in its presentation.. Nonetheless Flow Free will appeal to puzzle fans.
Developers: BIG DUCK GAMES LLC
Flow Free Promotional Youtube Video
Flow Free QR Code
(Click on the image or scan the barcode with your Android phone to goto Google Play)
