TETRA’s Escape Review

ABX Games Studio, adventure, casual, Cute, indie, PC, PC Review, Puzzle, Ratalaika Games, Rating 5/10, Tetra’s Escape, Tetra’s Escape Review

TETRA’s Escape is a puzzle game in which you must reach the portal and progress into the next world. Each level has 3 stars and a cup as a bonus for those with a more completionist mind.

The first thing, which was unfortunate to notice, was that the game doesn’t support 1920x1080p resolution, this meant that I was not able to play on a full screen and only within a window. In an era where 1080p is the expectation and where higher resolutions are also common, it is disappointing to see a game releasing without full support. Especially one which considers itself outside of early access.

The game plays by allowing you to take control of block monsters (TETRA) which can transform into shapes which will be familiar to anyone who has ever laid eyes on Tetris. The goal is to use these shapes to reach the portal, which will end the level. Stars are positioned throughout the map which you must collect to 100% the play. At times there will be stars placed in not-so-obvious shape placements, so players will have to deviate from the default strategy to obtain them. The added level of difficulty adds some limited replay potential. Different coloured blocks could change into one or more different shapes and the option to rotate them is key in many of the puzzles. In later levels, hazards prevented the crossing of certain paths or required navigating around to progress towards the objective.

ABX Games Studio, adventure, casual, Cute, indie, PC, PC Review, Puzzle, Ratalaika Games, Rating 5/10, Tetra’s Escape, Tetra’s Escape Review

I found that in some situations, controls and placements got in the way of strategy. In one of the early levels for example, the final star was a block away from the level end and the cup spawned behind the player. I did not get the cup due to input issues. The block move also sometimes feels clunky as you will sometimes see a TETRA move further than anticipated, just for holding down a button for too long. While this only occurred in a couple of optional situations, I found it occurred often enough for it to be worth mentioning as it can require repeating levels to correct.

Despite the game’s issues, I did find that the game was fun and challenging at times and found myself stuck with trial and error to complete the levels; sometimes burning through several restarts before completion. Puzzles require forward thinking and pre-movement of different Tetras before placing the first steps. I did not find the game to be overly hard or leave me thinking for more than 10 minutes before being able to work it out, as a rare player of true puzzle games, I felt that this close to optimal. The art style for the game is of a high quality and keeps to a cute, simple style which was compelling.

ABX Games Studio, adventure, casual, Cute, indie, PC, PC Review, Puzzle, Ratalaika Games, Rating 5/10, Tetra’s Escape, Tetra’s Escape Review

I felt that TETRA’s Escape was of a good quality but there were a lot of things which the developers should have polished a bit more before release. The gameplay was good and retained interest throughout my time with it.  The puzzles were a challenge and allowed multiple completion methods, but there could be an improvement with the objectives by placing some of them in less mechanically obstructed areas.

Overall, TETRA’s Escape is a good quality puzzle game but could use some updates and support from the developer. A game which combines puzzles and cuteness while maintaining critical thinking and accessibility. Recommended for a few hours of solid gameplay.

REVIEW CODE: A FREE PC code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.

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