Tidalis, Arcen's take on Tetris [Win/Mac/Linux]

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Hipolito
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Tidalis, Arcen's take on Tetris [Win/Mac/Linux]

Post by Hipolito »

If you've been following Bill Harris's writing since the Gone Gold days, you know he has a knack for evangelizing games that otherwise might go unnoticed. Tidalis is one of those games, and I probably would have never heard of it without this post of his.

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Tidalis was published way back in 2010 by Arcen Games, the same designer that made AI War. It's like Tetris and match-3 but really unlike them. I'll try to describe it.

Each block has a color and an arrow. When you left-click on a block, the block fires a stream in the direction of the arrow. If the stream hits another block of the same color, the stream changes direction, following the arrow of the block it hit. If the stream connects three or more blocks of the same color, those blocks vanish. The blocks above them fall, and each of them fires a stream of its own. This can lead to big-time chains of combos.

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You can change the direction of a block's arrow by right-clicking on it. Right-clicking on a block also dims all the blocks that are of different colors from the one you clicked on, which really helps you quickly plan your moves.

It's a fun mechanic enhanced by the little ditty that plays whenever you clear blocks, and each color has its own ditty. The soundtrack is also good, varying from relaxing to tense over the course of the 115-level adventure campaign.

The campaign stays novel and challenging because it frequently introduces special modes and blocks. For example, there's a frenzy mode in which blocks fall much faster, but you can have multiple streams going to make up for that. The special blocks include Stone blocks that can only be cleared by letting them fall through the bottom, Eater blocks that gobble up entire columns, and many others. Some levels are a little too tough for me, requiring fast reflexes or a really lucky starting placement. Fortunately, you can skip a level at any time. I skipped 23 of them.

There's even a story, told through cutscenes that play every few levels. You're an explorer who has reached the shore of an island populated by cute monsters that are obsessed with designing puzzles to thwart each other. They're not sure what to make of you, but maybe you can help them defeat their common enemy, the diabolical Dr. Wiggles.

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You wouldn't play this game for its story, but I'm glad there's at least a semblance of one. Despite its silly, lighthearted plot, it actually reminded me of the Ukraine-Russia war going on right now. But I'm weird.

I found Tidalis pleasant without being addictive. Playing a few levels every month or so, I've been chipping away at the adventure campaign for the last couple of years, and finally finished it. If you're looking for a unique, cute old puzzler, this game might do. It's on Steam and Humble. It was also in a few bundles, so you may already have it if you're a bundle buyer.
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NickAragua
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Re: Tidalis, Arcen's take on Tetris [Win/Mac/Linux]

Post by NickAragua »

I remember playing this game a little while after it came out. It was pretty fun, but, nowadays, I don't think it'd make it to my "main gaming time" - it'd probably get a good amount of play time on a mobile device while waiting to pick a kid up from soccer practice or whatever.
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