The free game is available for Windows 10 PC and Mobile, and it offers colorful graphics, simple mechanics and plenty of head-scratching conundrums to solve. Heart Box also include hints should you need a little help getting past a game level. It is ad-supported, with the option to remove the ads through a $0.99 in-app purchase.
Overall, Heart Box is an enjoyable game to pass the time with, and it's a fitting addition to the physics-based game aisle in the Windows Store.
Heart Box's primary menu is simple, and it includes options to access the game's settings, mute the sound and jump into gameplay. Gameplay is spread across three chapters, each containing 40 puzzle levels. Levels are progressively unlocked, with the option to unlock all levels through a $1.49 in-app purchase.
The first level is a tutorial, and it briefly illustrates how to play the game. Each level has "Robby the robot" (a smiley face cube) and a red charging cradle placed in various locations on the screen. There is also a series of platforms and obstacles positioned between Robby and his cradle. The goal is to pair the robot and the charging cradle by moving one or the other across the screen through the manipulation of the various objects.
Many of the objects in these puzzles rest on a yellow and black cube. Tapping on the cube removes it from the field of play and sets a series of physical actions into motion. For example, you may see a wooden platform suspended by two cubes. Removing one of the cubes turns the platform into a ramp, allowing the robot (or other objects) to slide down it. There are also several puzzles that utilize objects, such as bowling balls and springboards, to knock your robot across platforms or send it into the air to reach the cradle.
Should you misjudge your moves within a puzzle, a reset button sits at the bottom of the game screen that allows you to start from scratch. If you're completely stumped and need a little help solving a puzzle, there is also a hint button at the bottom of the screen. Heart Box's hints do come at the cost of having to watch a short advertisement.
Once you get past the first few levels, the subsequent ones offer a decent challenge of your skills at planning, timing and luck. Many of the puzzles remind me of the classic mouse trap) games where the puzzle's solution is often a perfectly timed series of events. As far as the overall gaming experience is concerned, Heart Box is an entertaining physics-based game for Windows 10. The game ran smoothly for the most part, but it did freeze up momentarily as Heart Box transitioned between game levels. This instability was not frequent, and it's not a deal breaker.
Heart Box is a free, ad-supported game for Windows 10 PC and Mobile. Heart Box isn't strong enough to survive marathon gaming sessions, but it can be a lot of fun in small doses.
