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Toys (PC)
If I would tell you that I just played a game that doesn’t require to press any button and that it isn’t a Wii/PlayStation Move/Kinect game, could you believe it? Even stranger: could you believe that it is good? This is what Toys, an experimental game created in just seven days by Christoffer Hedborg, is all about.
Toys is a puzzle game that requires the player to match cubes to their correct position in order to recreate a specific shape. All of this is done simply by rotating the puzzle with the use of your mouse. The goal of the game is to get the lowest score possible. The faster you complete the level, the lower your score will be (a cumulative score is given to the player when all the levels are completed). The game is pretty short in length. Any player should be able to make it through the game’s 12 levels in about 10-20 minutes or so, but you will probably find yourself coming back to them after you’re done since the game is so addictive.
The game revolves around a “zero button” theme and it successfully achieves it. From the start of the game to the end (menus navigation included), you will never have to press a single key on your keyboard or any of your mouse’s button. This makes the game incredibly easy and simple to pick-up, which makes the game accessible to pretty much anyone that can drag a mouse (in other words, even your mom can fully enjoy this game).
The art style of Toys is also remarkable. The game uses a clean white look background and clean red fonts. For the blocks and shapes used in the game, very bright and distinctive colors are used (red, yellow, green, blue, purple, cyan). This game is simply extremely beautiful to look at.
As for the audio, Toys is composed of a joyful electronic song and of simplistic electronic sounds. The audio blends really well with the look and feel of the game, which makes the game even more enjoyable to experience.
The only negative thing I could find about this game is that you can’t exit levels if you are not able to complete it. To return to the main menu, you must complete the current level. This is far from being a problem here since you will be able to complete every level in less than two minutes (at the most).
Toys is one great relaxing game. It is simple, fun, addictive, beautiful and accessible. Considering that the game can be played for free on pretty much any web browser, you have no reason of not trying this game out.
Toys is playable on the PC for free at http://christofferhedborg.com/toys/.
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Positives:
- The beautiful art style
- Great music and sound effects that support the graphics
- Fun and addicting gameplay
- The game is available for free
Negatives:
- No way to exit levels
Gameplay: 9.5
Visuals: 9.5
Audio: 9.5
Lasting appeal: 4
Innovation: 7.5
Final Score: 9.5
Game experience at time of redaction: Game cleared
Redacted on: March 10th 2011
Uploaded on: March 10th 2011