Solas 128 – Switch – ntower

In Solas 128, your task is to direct the rays of light pulsing from one room to the next and, in doing so, really stifle your thought cells. Each room represents a kind of puzzle, decorated with colorful neon pieces and with synthesizer sounds. Starting with Solas 128 is very quick because you will be immediately pushed into the game without explaining a single workout or restrictions. The goal is clearly “effort is better than study” and after you play a little with the elements, you will absorb the game very quickly. Can you manage to solve more than 100 puzzle sections and refill dark rooms with color?

Solas has 128 different rooms, all of which are interconnected and create a larger, darker world that you want to revitalize with rays of light. If you find an exit in the room, you need to consider how to direct the light beam through the room to reach the exit, which is connected to the next area. The task is even easier in the first stages. You can already imagine the solution paths and place the oblique obstacles accordingly, which will direct the rays at right angles. But soon the amount of difficulty increases sharply and you do not have to worry about a single beam of light, but rather several pulsating light stimuli, which glow in different colors and each maneuver to specific places. Other elements that reflect the lights from other angles will also be introduced later.

It is controlled in portable mode via the touch screen or with the control stick and a button to perform actions or pick up and move components. Unfortunately, the button control for this game, in which the oblique lines are changed and rotated frequently, does not provide the best gaming experience on the TV screen. With touch screen control, the operation is very pleasant, however not entirely accurate and requires very precise work with the fingers.

There are some icons on the game screen, none of which are explained to you, so I will introduce them briefly here: The i-box on the upper left screen acts as a kind of lamp that obscures neon particles and light rays. The game and adjoining rooms will fade, thus focusing only on the current room. The question mark button in the upper center tells you one of the positions where you need to place an object to divert the rays. So if you do not know what to do next (this is often the case), using this reference function can help you a little. After a tip is given, it takes you a while to pick up the other end. At the top right again there is a pause button that opens a menu with options to exit the game or call settings. At the bottom of the screen you will see the fast forward function, where you can accelerate the speed of the light beams, which is useful, for example, if you have already solved a puzzle and want to progress faster. On the other hand, next to it there is an undo button, through which you can reset the steps you have already taken. Unfortunately, there is no button you can use to go back if deactivation does not help.

The amount of difficulty becomes very high at the initial stage and if you do not have the best and forward looking imagination you can sit in individual columns for a very long time and try different combinations until a point is resolved. Unfortunately, from time to time I lose perspective because many rooms cannot be solved independently, but are connected to other areas, so all of these elements need to be considered. Especially when returning to the game after a break, it is often not so easy to remember what you did before and where changes need to be made. In some situations, the fun of the game may be compromised, and a little more support than the reference function would have been desirable.

Visually and musically, the game is very well designed, but quickly becomes a bit boring. The developers chose a very simple design that has simple lines and shapes, however, it goes well with the theme of the puzzle adventure. Electro sounds that set the rhythm to pulsating light stimuli give a good feeling, but a little more variety and more musical tracks would have been desirable.