Aurora Hex - Pattern Puzzles

[b]aurora hex[/b] is similar to the developer's previous game, [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dohi64/recommended/724640]aurorabound deluxe[/url]. you're trying to recreate colorful patterns in both, but in this game you're bothering hexagons instead of squares. it is also somewhat similar to [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/370150/]loop[/url]. there are 20 worlds (level sets) with 30 levels each (except the first, which only has 20), so about 600 puzzles to begin with. the mouse moves pieces around and placed hexes can be rotated with left/right clicks. there is no timer and you can use as many hints as you want, as long as you have them. completing each level gives you one, it unlocks the next level, hands out some crowns that are just points for a scrapped leaderboard feature that may or may not return later, and a star. stars are used to unlock worlds, and while you can only have one unsolved puzzle in a world, if you stack up stars, you can unlock multiple worlds and hop around between them. not sure why they're called worlds, my theory is because levels look like top-down views of some random landscape. well, not so much the pink areas, but I can picture mountains…

A really nice pattern solving puzzle game with 590 standard levels, 4 daily puzzles each day and infinite mode so you never run out of puzzles to solve even if you finish all the standard and daily ones. The only 2 issues I have with the game would be: - the UI can be a bit buggy sometimes (a handful of times I have somehow managed to select multiple pieces at once and the text when you finish a level in the infinite mode is broken) - the hint system leaves a lot to be desired as it will a lot of the time just switch 2 of the same looking pieces that were in the correct spots. But I have played 2000 levels and I still have hundreds of hints left over so it is not really that much of an issue although would be ideal if fixed. Neither of them are serious issues and have not taken away from my enjoyment of the game, or I wouldn't have played 65 hours of it just to get the 100%. Works without issues on Linux with Proton (7.0-4, 7.0-5 and whatever was the default one back in August 2019).

Visually pleasing minimalist puzzler. Almost same genre as jigsaw puzzles, but feels different. UI & Visuals seem a bit more refined than the first title, while retaining a similar feel to play. :) (Currently up to late World 1, out of 20 worlds, at time of review. Also has Daily puzzles to unlock & Infinity mode to unlock)

[u]In short:[/u] Aurora Hex is a lovely casual puzzle game about completing colour patterns on a hex grid by placing or rotating tiles. While the UI and presentation leave a lot to be desired, the basic gameplay is very solid and content is functionally infinite with the level generator and daily levels. The stand-alone price is a steal. Even more so as part of the bundle (though this game is by far the most enjoyable of the three). [u]In long:[/u] The [b][u]gameplay[/u][/b] consists of placing or rotating hex tiles on a grid. Placement and rotation are mutually exclusive to each other and the only interactions the game offers. A tile may have up to 3 colours and the goal is to fill the grid in a way that only same-colour edges are next to each other. This is not really a game of hard logic or foced moves and the easiest way to solve most levels is to recognize and follow the over-all visual pattern which tend to fall into 3 broad archetypes (web, spiral, lines). Completing a level earns you a hint, which you can use to have a tile placed for you if you ever get stuck (which should only happen rarely at the very start of mosty-empty boards). The [b][u]content[/u][/b] is functio…

Very satisfying puzzles.