Zenge Review (Nintendo Switch)

Game: Zenge
Genre: Puzzle | Adventure
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam & Mobile)
Publishers | Developers: Hamster On Coke Games
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US E | AUS G
Price:  EU $ 1.39 | USD  $1.99 |AUD $2.10 | CAD $2.64 |  UK £1.79
Release Date: 21st May 2020

Review code used many thanks to Hamster On Coke Games.

Zenge is a puzzle game by developers Hamster on Coke where the player takes a journey with a faceless man named Eon.

The lonely man

The blurb for Zenge on the Nintendo page says “ Zenge is a peculiar puzzle game, telling the story of Eon – a lonely journeyman who’s stuck between the worlds and time”. And I have to say I agree wholeheartedly, it is a peculiar puzzle game and it’s also a lot of fun.

The concept of Zenge is to complete tangram puzzles by sliding and moving the shapes which are attached to rails into a portrait. Which then turns in to a picture and you and the journeyman move on to the next level.

Basically, once you solve each puzzle and the picture is revealed, you’re fed a little bit more of the visual story of the journey man travelling through worlds. The end picture of each puzzle is the story, there are no words and no one speaks as the journeyman’s story is all visual.

Sliding Puzzles Easy Peasy

The first few levels in Zenge start of easy as you’re  introduced to the mechanics of the game by sliding some squares around to form the picture. Very quickly the game introduces new shapes to the puzzles and the difficulty goes up a bit.

With new shapes added in as you move through the levels, new mechanics are also added in. Some involve coloured edges that need to fit together to form a bigger shape, or having to press a switch to flip a shape over to change the direction of it on the rail. Shapes can warp from one rail to another in some of the puzzles further into the game as well.

New Mechanics Introduced.

There is a good variety of mechanics in Zenge and each is introduced wordlessly in an easy task before being put to use in more complex puzzles during the journeyman’s adventures. This helps to keep the game fresh and interesting as you puzzle your way through it. And If you get stuck as to where a particular shape fits into the puzzle you can tap and hold  that shape and the game highlights where the shape fits, then all you have to do is work out how to get it into place.

There is no time limit, no rush before the timer goes off to complete a level and no pressure on the player. You can also go back to any puzzle if you need a reminder of how a particular mechanic works.

In the first few levels in Zenge as you’re taught how to play the game, it reminded me in some ways of the old classic sliding puzzle toy games. Remember, like the sliding 15 Puzzle where you had to slide the numbered tiles around the 4×4 board to configure them to run from 1 to 15. It’s sort of the same concept, except its multisided shapes your using to form a picture with in this game. 

Visuals and Controls

I really like the look of Zenge with its beautiful, clean and colourful visuals, the music is a perfect match for the relaxing gameplay.

Zenge can be played using the joycon stick and buttons, or by using the touchscreen which turned out to be my preferred control system. The joycons controls seem a little bit fiddly to me as the joystick doesn’t always click on the right shape. However the touchscreen controls work very well and the shapes moved along the rails as expected.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed playing Zenge for this review. It’s a simplistic puzzle idea turned into an engaging puzzle game. The puzzles are not too hard, just the right level of difficulty for the game to remain very relaxing without any frustration setting in.

With its minimalist art design, which is beautifully achieved as the puzzle completes, and a little bit more of the journeyman’s story is revealed goes to prove that you don’t need flashy graphics in every game, sometimes less is more.

For the few pounds or dollars that Zenge costs to buy in the eShop I have no hesitation in saying if you’re  a puzzle fan and even if you’re not Zenge, deserves a spot on your Nintendo Switch. Which only leaves me to say: in my opinion it ticks all the boxes for a quality puzzle game and my score is….

Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up