The unique HOOK ($1.99) had a quite simple thought behind it. You had been offered with a tangled mess of hooks and loops, and also you wanted to take away every one with out snagging any others. Very simple at first, however because the puzzles rolled alongside, further layers of complexity had been woven in. By the tip, the puzzles would take a mix of cautious commentary and persistence to untangle. As an added bonus, these later puzzles had been additionally lovely objects to take a look at. The sport was a shock hit, and it left individuals hungry for extra.
HOOK 2 ($1.99) is that long-awaited second course. The fundamental thought right here is identical: take away the hooks in such a method that none of them pull on one another as they arrive out. As you play by means of the primary a number of ranges, it’s maybe too acquainted. Tug on the traces with none snags first, then the subsequent ones, and so forth till they’re all gone. They get extra sophisticated, however nothing you may’t deal with. You then attain a puzzle that appears considerably easier than the one which got here earlier than. What’s this? You tug on the apparent line, and… it snags on nothing?
And it’s right here the place the brand new dimension is available in. Fairly actually, the truth is. You slide your finger a bit and immediately, the hooks reveal their secret. The puzzles are three-dimensional this time, and that provides a pleasant twist to the proceedings. All of a sudden even the only issues like observe modifications and layered hooks require a complete new mind-set. Tracing these traces round to see what’s going to pull once you yank on the road is quite a bit trickier, and takes much more spatial consciousness.
It’s an exquisite new hook, should you’ll pardon the pun. And it’s greater than sufficient to energy the pile of recent ranges you’ve acquired to play by means of right here. The good factor is that similar to within the unique recreation, there’s no time restrict or different type of strain right here. Sure, should you pull on the unsuitable line too many instances, you’ll must restart the puzzle. That’s not likely a lot of a setback, although. And certain, should you’re inclined to, you may brute drive your method by means of plenty of the degrees. To some extent. As issues get extra sophisticated, the variety of variables turn into a bit bit an excessive amount of to randomly fumble your method by means of. So that you’ll must do it at a correct tempo, patiently unraveling the serpentine threads that make up these pretty three-dimensional artwork items.
There’s a zen-like high quality to all of it, aided by the chilliness presentation. With no significantly tense components, you’re free to nibble on every puzzle as you want, unraveling a bunch directly or slowly yanking on the items of a single one over the course of your espresso break. Regrettably, HOOK 2 doesn’t appear to save lots of your progress in a puzzle if the video games closes out utterly, so that you’ll must at the very least end the present one you’re engaged on earlier than getting on together with your day. Even the more difficult puzzles don’t take various minutes should you set your thoughts to it, so it’s not a severe flaw. However it’s one thing to think about.
Whereas it was maybe a bit too lengthy in coming, HOOK 2 is a superb sequel to the unique. It retains the identical really feel and important mechanics, however builds on each in an fulfilling method with simply the only addition of creating the puzzles three-dimensional. The principle drawback with the sport is identical situation the primary one had: the puzzles run dry a bit before you would possibly like. You’ll whip by means of the preliminary 80 ranges rapidly when you get into the groove of issues, leaving you as soon as once more ready for extra.
Don’t take this as too a lot of a criticism; 80 puzzles is, in spite of everything, a quite great amount in an goal sense. However I actually do need extra, and that’s maybe the largest testomony to how effectively HOOK 2 works. It’s a kind of puzzlers you could simply get cozy with in these spare pockets of time that crop up every day, and an excellent follow-up to Maciej Targoni’s different well-designed video games. Now, how lengthy till the subsequent bunch of ranges drop?