Cypher

This is almost unplayable for someone who doesn't have previous knowledge in cryptography. The game will present you different cryptography methods like in a museum, with a very vague historical background on that method and close to no explanation on how to actually use those methods. I had to look for tutorials on how to solve each type of puzzle outside the game, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to solve them... and even then, some requires logic that are a huge stretch. When a game requires you to get information outside of it, it's a huge sign of bad game design, and it's not educational at all, since you need to study elsewhere. Each type of puzzle has very little puzzles for you to practice and feel like you're getting better at it, so it's a huge letdown as well. You don't feel progression at all. It's just like a quick presentation of each method that should only work for people who need no presentation at all. All in all, this feels just like a tribute to cryptography made exclusively for those who are already acquainted with it, and even for them I'd feel the game in itself would be lacking in content.

You’ll be introduced to some of the best-known concepts and puzzles (ciphers) in cryptography, which I think are fairly accessible for beginners. However, since the difficulty is far from linear, you’ll quickly find yourself stuck. For experts, this game is a good refresher but may lacks content. A level editor and workshop would have been a nice adding, but for a game that costs 5€ there’s not much more to expect.

I think my brain's fried... even with the help of hints

Disappointing and unfun. There's no actual entertainment/gaming OR learning here.

Poorly designed difficulty and requires me to often look for help on the Internet.

Its a pretty niche a game but does its job pretty good.