Doodle God Blitz

Fun for a while, but turns into a grind long before you're finished.

Doodle God Blitz is a fun, new approach to puzzle games that will keep you engaged for a while. The art is great, and the game will make you really think more than most games do, as to make the various matches in DGB, you'll have to think of both straight-forward, concrete connections (Fire + Water = Steam) and more abstract connections (Human + Blood = Vampire). There are hundreds of different elements to discover, and the different quests and puzzles require you to think of things in a different way to complete them.

DGB certainly has its flaws, though. For one, with SO MANY elements to discover, some of which have multiple ways to make them (and you'll have to find every single one for a full completion), the game turns into a grind long before you're finished. Unless you are just REALLY into puzzle games and have the stamina to make every possible combination of two elements to try to unlock everything legit (although isn't this just a grind of a different kind?) you'll end up with a list open next to your screen as you methodically check each one off one-by-one to finish all the achievements. But if you're just in it for some easy acheivements without caring too much about completions, you'll probably have a lot of fun.

The other drawback to DGB is the "glow" system. This is the energy/currency system that many freemium games employ, but it's a bit more nefarious in DGB. Your glow is used to make new elements. Each new element uses up to 10% of your glow, and you can continue making new elements until your glow is depleted. The nefariousness comes in once your glow is depleted. You are permitted to continue making connections with 0% glow, and even discovering new elements. BUT, these elements are "locked," and can only be unlocked using DGB's other in-game currency: mana. Mana is finite. Different missions and tasks will give you more mana, but there are a limited number of these, and at a point, your only option to acquire more mana is to purchase it with real money. This means that, if you are not mindful enough of your glow, you could end up with so many locked elements that your only options to complete the game are to spend real money, or to reset the episode. Glow can be recharged by moving the system clock forward, but the difficult part is being mindful of your glow in the first place, since the only times you can see it are AFTER making a combination, or by checking the in-game store.

Overall, this is a fun game, but a full completion requires playing for quite a bit of time beyond the point where it's not that much fun anymore.