“Chime Sharp”
Reviewed By: Elias S. Lutes
Developer: Ste Curran, Twistplay
Publisher: Chilled Mouse
Platform: Steam, Switch
Chime Sharp begins with a blank slate, a metronome-like line moves slowly across the board like a slow, ambient heartbeat. The goal is to place your collection of Tetris-esque pieces together to create quadrilaterals that will clear when the timeline crosses“Chime Sharp”
Reviewed By: Elias S. Lutes
Developer: Ste Curran, Twistplay
Publisher: Chilled Mouse
Platform: Steam, Switch
Chime Sharp begins with a blank slate, a metronome-like line moves slowly across the board like a slow, ambient heartbeat. The goal is to place your collection of Tetris-esque pieces together to create quadrilaterals that will clear when the timeline crosses over the shape. There’s no falling blocks, no frantic scramble to place pieces in rapid succession under threat of being overwhelmed, simply ambient music and the ability to set and clear pieces at your leisure.
The more you clear on the board, the more of a music track you unlock, giving a sense of progression to each level with an auditory twist. Once you hit a certain threshold of clearing on each level (over 50%, which can become difficult,) you unlock a new mode that changes the rules, adding more complexity and challenge to the experience. While this mode is a lot of fun, unlocking it can be rough on certain boards.
The original Chime game was a hit with fans, and this game certainly is a callback to anyone that has played the title. A labor of love that provides a large amount of content at a very comfortable price point. More refined than the original, the music seems to be the only shortfall, but I will readily admit that could just be a bit of loving bias from the time I spent on the original Chime.
For fans of the puzzle genre who aren’t familiar with Chime, but are looking for a laid-back approach to gaming, this title really shines with smooth, colorful graphics and a light electronica soundtrack that’s easy to groove to. The simplistic nature is soothing, easily able to provide a bit of calm time before winding down -- as I found out for myself each night seeking this title out on my Switch to end my evenings with.
Pros:
-Clear objectives
-Great ambience
Cons:
-Repetitive
-No hints on how to unlock things
Overall: 7/10
Chime Sharp accomplishes a lot with a formula that seems to spring from the bare basics of puzzle gameplay. The environment the game creates is relaxing and nothing out of the usual: a comfortable zone to make squares and rectangles and watch them disappear, just a little more slowly this time.… Expand
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