UNWYND is a relatively new Windows Phone game that has you tackling a series of puzzles where you have to include or exclude a series of colored boxes. The interface is simple and only requires a few swipes to solve each puzzle. However, finding the right solution may not be as easy.
UNWYND has over ninety puzzle levels spread across three chapters and while the game takes a few tries to get the hang of, it can be a real head scratcher. Available for low memory Windows Phones, the only real downside to UNWYND is the lack of a trial version.
UNWYND's main menu is uncluttered with options to mute the sound, view the About screen, jump into game play and visit the developer's Facebook and Twitter pages. You also have language choices that include English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Italian. By default, the game will choose your device's language.
Game play is spread across three chapters that include Lines, Colors and Walls. Each has a unique variable to add to the core puzzle but for the most part, game play is consistent between the three chapters. For example, Walls incorporates barriers into the puzzle that will impede the drawing of the lines used to solve the puzzles.
The game screen will have your puzzle goals displayed above the playing field that has a number of colored boxes scattered about. The objectives will set out the number of boxes of a certain color that are to be, for the lack of a better term, included or excluded (marked with a dot or X).
To start the solution tap and hold a colored box and swipe left, right, up or down. A colored lined will be created that matches the color of that box and any box of the same color in the line will be included while any boxes of a different color will be excluded.
When you first jump into game play, a tutorial will go over the game's mechanics and the first two levels in the Lines chapter will continue the tutorial with a little hands-on experience. Game play isn't difficult but it will take a few games under your belt to get the hang of things.
Lines will not cross but do not have to span the full width or height of the screen. They can be used to limit the number of squares in a line, which in turn will help you solve the puzzle.
Overall Impression
UNWYND is a simple to play, challenging to master type puzzle game in the Windows Phone Store. The interface can be handled one-handed but finding the right solution for each puzzle may take a few tries to get it right. Each level has more than one solution, which in a way adds to the challenge.
The game was fun to play but there are two issues that may hurt the game's appeal. First, on the game screen there is a reset and menu button at the bottom of the screen. The reset button will wipe out any work you've done to solve the puzzle and give you a fresh start. The menu button, while I expected it to send you to levels menu, it sends you to the game's main menu. This may be nit-picky but I would have preferred going back to the levels menu than the main menu.
The second issue is likely more detrimental to the game's success than where the menu button takes you. UNWYND lacks a trial version and just on that fact alone, many will say "No trial, no buy". I suspect it would have been easy for the developer to have offered a trial version with the first few levels available to try before you buy. On the plus side, UNWYND is only $.99 so it won't break the bank.
Overall, I liked UNWYND and think most will find it to be a challenging, entertaining Windows Phone game. At last check, UNWYND is unrated in the Windows Phone Store and we see it as a 4 to 4.5 star title. If you take the plunge and pick up UNWYND, let us know what you think about the game in the comments below.
