Game: TRIOS – lofi beats / numbers to chill to –
Genre: Puzzle
System: Steam ( Windows, macOS & Linux)
Developer|Publisher: Samurai Punk
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US Everyone
Price: US $7.99 | UK £5.79 | EU € 6,59
Release Date: September 30th, 2021
Review code provided with many thanks to Samurai Punk
Math’s and Video Games
Mathematics and video games have a rather interesting relationship. Outside a few very clever indie titles you rarely see developers attempt to use the subject as a focus for a puzzle game. I’ve always found this pretty interesting, as to develop video games in the first place you kinda need a decent understanding of the subject.
Of course, developers and players are two very different things. I for one was a math’s kid at school so Trios did catch my attention. A simple puzzle game that combines math’s based puzzles with a very chilled out soundtrack. Let’s see if it’s any good.
Do Your Sums
The premise of the game is you are presented with a giant number in the centre. Surrounding this are multiple bubbles of numbers and math symbols. Using the mouse you select two numbers and a symbol to combine together to create a new number, then repeat the process until you have formed the number in the centre thus completing the puzzle. Sometimes you need to add things up, possibly multiply or subtract, even into minus figures.
It does feel like the player needs to have a basic understanding of mathematics to fully appreciate it. The challenge increases when you are presented with multiple numbers and symbols on the screen, making it take some time and thought to sum your way to the solution bit by bit. If you make a mistake you can undo them instantly making for an easy trial and error approach to each puzzle. If you do get really stuck each puzzle offers one hint suggesting two numbers and a symbol to combine to get you started.
Two Modes
There are two game modes to enjoy. In puzzle mode, you essentially take on single puzzles one after the other. Once you finish a level the number is added to a planet. Once this is complete you move onto another planet where the difficulty and number of puzzles increases.
There is also an endless mode where you simply take on puzzles one after the other with the difficulty gradually increasing over time. Here you can add numbers to a giant planet. You can dip in and out of this experience at any time and if you do come across a puzzle that’s a bit too much for the brain to handle, you can skip it.
Niggles and Graphics
Your level of enjoyment of Trios is highly dependent on if you’re a gamer that wants to sit down and do your sums. While I did enjoy the concept of the game my main niggle is I just kinda got bored after about thirty minutes of play and wanted to move on to something else. Short bursts seem to be the ideal way to enjoy the game and I couldn’t help fantasizing that I would prefer to pick this up on small bursts on Nintendo Switch in handheld mode. This game seems like it would be pretty cool with touch controls. I guess there is always the Steam Deck which comes out later this year sometime.
There’s not a lot to say about the graphics. This is a simply colourful coloured bubble with numbers in a sort of space-like design. The standout of the experience is the wonderfully chilled out soundtrack. Doing math’s is not always easy and this game certainly tries to keep you in a calm mood before taking on the challenge.
Conclusion – Count on it
Trios makes math’s fun. A simple chilled out game with a very pleasant soundtrack. Trios sets out what it wants to do and certainly achieves it. But it’s simple design probably won’t appeal to everyone. This is not really a game to switch your brain off either after one of those hard days at work. That being said, if doing math is how you like to relax, then you can count on Trios to entertain you.
Final Verdict: I Like it
