KAMI review
There is no shortage of puzzle games for the mobile market. Generally speaking, the graphics are not intensive, so most phones and tablets can handle the gameplay. In comes a new puzzle game to Android called KAMI. KAMI is a Japanese style paper puzzle game created by State of Play, the same developer that created Lume for PC, Mac and iOS, and Headspin: Storybook for iOS. Both KAMI and Lume have been on iOS for a while, but this is the first time State of Play is bringing a game to Google's Play Store.
Review
KAMI is a Japanese style puzzle game that uses real paper for it's blocks. When you start out, you'll be presented with a short demo informing the player on how the game works. On the right side of your screen you'll have colors to choose. Starting out with three, you'll need to change all of the square blocks on the board to one color. Selecting a color from the side, then selecting a block to change will also flip the adjacent blocks of the same color into the picked color. A set number of moves are given at the bottom of the screen. Accomplishing the puzzle in the given amount of tries will get you a Perfect rating. Going over the allotted number by one gets you an OK rating. Going over by two and you get a fail. Simple but addictive. The puzzles are just tough enough to make you really think. Some trial and error will be needed.
The animations for when the paper blocks change are absolutely gorgeous. You wouldn't think that a sound of paper folding would be so good to hear, but again it just works and works well. Getting those big patterns to change half the board is just plain fun to hear. The music is nice and calming. It plays during the menu and when the puzzle starts, but then stops so you can focus. I almost want the music to continue to help me think.
There are a couple of problems. Battery life went really fast while playing, but this could be fixed in an update. The way hints work is also a problem area. When you start out, you get "5 Hint Credits". To use a hit requires 3. The game will then show you what color and where to pick your spot. All is good so far. The bad part comes when you try to use a hint on another puzzle. With only 2 hint credits left, you are now stuck. You can purchase more credits. Currently 5 credits for $0.99, 15 credits for $1.64, or unlimited hints for $2.95. The problem is that once you use credits, there is no way of earning them back by playing the game. One and done. There is also sadly no Google Play Services. So no cloud sync or achievements. Bummer.
For $0.99 you'll get 45 challenging puzzles to complete. After finishing the game, you can purchase another pack of 9 for $0.99.
You can try KAMI for free to get a taste of the puzzles and game play. The free version gives you the first 9 puzzles to try.
With no timer and a nice scale of difficulty, this is a peaceful puzzler.
