At the core of it, I like Treasure Stack. But I will say, it does not come with the polish that it should at its price tag of $20. There are a lot of very simple things that the game feels to be lacking, and there are some things that I feel like would have made the game a lot more interesting and engaging from a replay standpoint.
Synoposis of Gameplay
If you’ve seen a video ofAt the core of it, I like Treasure Stack. But I will say, it does not come with the polish that it should at its price tag of $20. There are a lot of very simple things that the game feels to be lacking, and there are some things that I feel like would have made the game a lot more interesting and engaging from a replay standpoint.
Synoposis of Gameplay
If you’ve seen a video of Treasure Stack’s gameplay, you know what to expect. It’s platforming mixed with puzzle action. You can move side-to-side, jump, pick up stacks, put down stacks to your side or underneath you (causing you to be on top of them), and use your grappling hook.
Those are the basics, but there are some finer mechanics. Blocks fall in a stack of two, composed of chests, keys or power-ups. You can, for instance, jump up and snatch the block off the top of that falling stack of two. You can split stacks in half (when you pick up a stack, you pick it up from the block closest to you). There are a few power-ups. An anvil that clears a column, a sword that clears a row, and a bomb that clears the adjacent 3x3 blocks. I would have liked to have seen more & different power-ups, like something that slowed time for you or sped up time for your opponent.
The game is all about the subtle aspects of movement. The grappling hook is a cool touch, but really falls short in terms of an “innovative” feature. It’s just a glorified fast drop with light customization. That said, you use it a lot, so it is a core part of the game.—but not nearly as core as picking up & putting down stacks, moving and jumping.
It seems like it can get really twitchy, having played against a handful of players much better than me online. It feels like a frantic mess about 4-5 minutes into a match, as blocks start coming down rather fast, and keys are getting buried in the stacks and the brain is overloaded with trying to grapple with managing this mountainous train wreck.
I feel like the game shines in its relatively simple controls because after you play several rounds you start to see how complex it can get in using your simple actions to maximum effect. You not only have to account for making and clearing stacks, but stacking in a way that you can still maneuver around the board. You have to think about the accessibility of power-ups, prioritize the clearing of the garbage, and so forth. It’s also fairly easy to hose yourself by blocking yourself in, burying a power-up, and that sort of thing. You’re never totally stuck, but it does take precious time to unstuck yourself, and usually it comes at the expense of how you had your stacks organized.
One example of a simple yet interesting mechanic that sort of pushed me to “play harder” is the multicolored keys that drop. If the multicolored key is attached to a chest, when it lands it will simply open that chest and disappear, which is typically a waste because the key can open any chests it’s adjacent to. But if you jump up and snatch it before it lands, and you’re quick in your “put down/pick up” game, you can reposition to get some big and timely clears.
Online: The online is fine. As far as I can see, it’s only head-to-head. There’s a seasonal mode and a casual mode, and it seems like this is where a lot of the intention of the developers was. It runs smoothly, so props there. I would have liked it if there were 4 player options or custom-game availability.
So yeah, those are the good things I can say about the game so far. The retro pixel graphics are plenty nice for this kind of game, and it feels right at home. I haven’t listened to any audio because I’ve only played it with the sound off.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the lack of a “Rematch” option after a completed game (especially in solo or local play) is a very simple QOL feature that virtually all of these puzzle games have. Sending the player back to the menu screen after every single game reflects a bit of amateur design in my eyes, and detracts from the overall player experience.
I like that there are aesthetic unlocks, but I would have liked to see this extend to the chests & keys themselves. As it stands, I barely notice the cosmetic changes to the grappling hook, so it feels like kind of a waste of effort on the developer's part.
Overall I like the game and don't regret the purchase. It feels like it would be most fun with some friends on the couch. It could use some additional QOL improvements (most notably a rematch feature) and some features that allow for greater replayability (more power ups, different modes, difficulty adjustments).
If this game was $10, I would give it a 9/10. As a $20 game, I would give it a 7… Expand
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