LYNE Review

LYNE is about as minimalistic as a puzzle game can get. The design, the use of colour and the soundtrack are all minimal, calm and peaceful. Don’t be fooled though, LYNE can get seriously frustrating as you progress through the puzzles. The general idea of LYNE is to connect shapes with a continuous, unbroken line, hence the name. When you begin, the puzzle is so simple - almost too simple. It seems to lull you into a false sense of security before it pounces and digs its claws in. The puzzles become increasingly difficult, although in most cases just changing the order in which you connected the shapes is enough to solve it. However, other puzzles leave you scratching your head, unable to see any possible solution.

As you play on, more options become apparent. In the very beginning, the player is only able to connect lines vertically or horizontally, no diagonal connections are possible. As you progress through the first few puzzles, you unlock the ability to make diagonal connections which aids you in your puzzle solving, but also adds to the difficulty. The addition of diagonal lines introduces a new challenge - the paths you make cannot cross. Octagonal junction boxes are thrown into the mix, which must be activated during the puzzle. Lines from any shape can, and must, pass through these octagonal shapes. A junction box with two dots must be crossed twice, one for four dots must be crossed four times. You get the picture. All other shapes can only be used once. In the beginning, the addition of these little octagons is a blessing, but as puzzles grow larger, more octagons appear and become more of a hindrance than any kind of help.

It may seem as though LYNE is complicated and full of rules. Written down, they do appear that way, but when you’re actually playing through a session of LYNE, the rules are natural and intuitive. The game steadily introduces each rule and each new element, so you never feel overwhelmed. One of the highlights is the lack of a time limit so you have longer to ponder another path without a timer rushing you. You cannot fail, there’s no feeling of impending doom or the bold letters ‘GAME OVER’ displayed on screen if you make a mistake. A red outline highlights your errors and you may consider a different path. LYNE lets you rethink your decisions and try again, so you can make as many attempts as you need. You can also begin to create a path then leave it partially connected while you join another shape around it and go back to the original path to complete the puzzle.

There are only a few negative things to say about LYNE. Firstly, the gameplay quickly becomes too much of the same thing. Once you have unlocked the first couple of levels, there are no longer any changes to the gameplay, no further introduction of new elements. Secondly, the mechanics of the PC version of the game just don’t feel right. It would be much more enjoyable on a mobile device with a touchscreen and it’s no surprise that this is a mobile-to-PC port. LYNE was originally designed for iOS, Android and Windows Phone and I’d personally prefer to play the game on my mobile device. It is the kind of game that is well suited for a quick, casual game on a phone or tablet rather than on a PC or Mac. You probably wouldn’t sit down in front of your PC and pull an all-nighter playing LYNE.

LYNE may be simplistic but it ticks all the right boxes. It boasts addictive gameplay, stylish design, a bunch of levels to play through and it’s cheap. Overall, the game is enjoyable so if you enjoying cracking a good puzzle, I recommend giving LYNE a go.