PREVIEW : Tin Hearts (PC)
Tin Hearts is similar to Lemmings in that you must safely direct small soldiers from point A to point B. The soldiers advance until they collide with an obstacle. If they hit an object straight on, they turn around and walk in the opposite direction; if they hit an object at an angle, they bounce off at the same angle. So you’re primarily managing their course using wedge-shaped things. However, as you continue, you will be able to acquire new items that will allow you to perform extraordinary actions.
Once you grasp all of the rules, the puzzles aren’t that difficult. It begins simply by limiting what objects you can place where, but gradually increases your freedom. The puzzle chambers are larger than the play area, so you’ll have more room to wander about. They provide you with a variety of teleports and artificial movement possibilities. The game is polished, but some of the mechanics are not very well explained to the player. I got trapped twice and was a little frustrated since I believed the causes for my being stuck could have been prevented.
First, I imagined you had to save all the men in a single pass. I was stuck on a task where I knew the solution but couldn’t save them all in one pass, so I assumed I was doing something incorrectly. It took me much too long to learn that once a soldier is saved, they remain saved even if the puzzle is reset. To avoid the player getting the wrong idea, I believe they should include a basic challenge that illustrates this principle early on.
Second, the game locks some of your controls early on without informing you. So, if you read the descriptions of the controls in the menu, you could think you can perform things they’ve locked you out of. Because I couldn’t teleport or alter time, I assumed the game was broken. Again, if they had greyed them out or used another technique to show that you couldn’t do them yet, I wouldn’t have wasted time figuring out if the game was glitching or my touchpads were faulty.
Because it is under early access, some issues like this are to be expected. I don’t want to create the idea that this game is unpolished because it is graphically amazing. They also contain mini-cut sequences that play out as you solve each problem and tell a tale. It’s quite original and well-executed. In terms of problem design, they appear to have done a good job of preventing the player from engaging in truly bizarre behaviour. You can see the developers put a lot of effort into this game.
I’m a little letdown. Because they introduce a lot of great abilities but don’t develop complicated relationships between them all, Act 1 only has 18 problems. It doesn’t evolve much once you grasp how to use the ability. Hopefully, this is only temporary, and the number and complexity of problems will improve in the following acts 2 and 3.
I finished it in just over 3 hours and thoroughly loved the experience. I’m excited to see the finished product. This game is visually appealing, and I’m a sucker for a good puzzle game.
If you like Lemmings-style puzzle games, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
