Freshly Frosted Review

Who doesn’t love doughnuts? Especially frosted ones with colourful sprinkles on the top? If you love puzzle games, and these delicious treats, boy do I have a game for you! Just a warning though, Freshly Frosted is going to make you want to run out and get doughnuts! The premise is simple: get the plain doughnuts out of the oven and transport them via conveyor belts to the frosting and decoration stations. 

The first few puzzles are simple to teach you the ropes, but as you progress the game gets a bit trickier. Not only do you require frosting and sprinkles, but now you need to add whipped cream on top. Some customers want even more, so add a cherry on top of that! The challenging part is each step has to be done in order, frosting has to come before sprinkles with whipped cream after. Players will have to figure out how exactly to place the conveyor belt so it goes to each station and out to the delivery counter. If you mess up just hit LB (if you are using an Xbox-style controller) to undo your last move, or hit Y to clear everything that you have done and start anew. When you get really stuck, if you go into the pause menu you can get a hint. The hint shows you where a couple of pieces of the conveyor belt should go in the correct solution, so this usually gives you an idea of how to place the pieces. If you get tired watching the doughnuts go from station to station at their slow, leisurely pace, you can increase the speed of the belts to make things go faster. I found it kind of relaxing watching the doughnuts travel on their way to get delivered once I solved the puzzle successfully.

You will be completing 12 puzzles to make a box of a dozen doughnuts. Each box has its own theme and new challenges to face. If you thought the puzzles were too simple at the beginning, just wait until the later boxes. Instead of only having one oven and one delivery counter, you now have three of each. Plus, each of the counters requires a different style of doughnut: one only wants plain, the second glazed with sprinkles, and the third wants it all; glazed, with sprinkles, whipped cream, and a cherry. There will be conveyors running every which way, and you have to figure out how to make them go the right way without messing up one of the other routes. There were a few times I had to look at the end goal and work my way backwards to discover a solution. I caved a couple of times and asked for a hint because I just couldn’t see how they fit. I was never frustrated or upset, just felt silly that I couldn't figure out the solution on my own. Or maybe it’s because I was craving doughnuts and wasn’t able to think of anything else!

The visuals in this game are great, from the perfectly cooked doughnuts to the pastel-coloured frosting. Freshly Frosted is incredibly cute and charming, while at the same time mouth-watering. That sounds weird but just seeing the lines of decorated treats just makes me hungry. The soundtrack keeps beat with the movements of the machines at the different stations, and when the conveyor moves or a machine activates to apply the frosting the music is totally in sync. It was hypnotising to watch and hear, almost putting me into a trance. I found I was incredibly relaxed and it felt like good stress relief to lose myself in the rhythm of the game. 

Freshly Frosted is one of the most enjoyable puzzle games I have played in a long time. It was charming, challenging, and really stimulated my brain. I never got so frustrated that I wanted to quit, if I was stuck I would just take a good look and try to look at it from a different direction. If you enjoy simplistic puzzle games that increase the challenge at a fair rate and are satisfying to solve, Freshly Frosted is a must-play! With 12 boxes of doughnuts to make, these 144 puzzles will keep you busy for a while. Just a warning though, you will be wanting yummy treats after playing this title!