Black Tower Enigma is a retro-inspired puzzle game set in a fantasy world. It comes from Ogre Pixel, an indie team of two based in Mexico. It features an unlikely protagonist in the form of an orc, who sets about to rescue his wife by puzzling his way through a tall tower. But that’s not even the best part.
Did I mention retro-inspired? Black Tower Enigma is so retro, it looks like a Game Boy Color game. To complete this feeling, it even features a square screen. You can zoom this in or out to your liking, and mess with the color palette a little, giving you some control over the aesthetics. The team even released Black Tower Enigma as an actual physical Gameboy Color game. That’s pretty cool.
You take on the role of Wigo, an orc on a mission to save his wife from an evil elf. Wait, aren’t those creatures usually presented the other way around? Fantasy twists aside, Wigo’s tale begins in a forest-like overworld, talking to people and interacting with objects. At first glance, Black Tower Enigma resembles a classic, top-down RPG. The environment shifts screen by screen, just like the original Zelda outing. It also features collectibles, fishing, and a dungeon.
On the other hand, there’s absolutely no combat. Instead, Black Tower Enigma relies entirely on a puzzle-solving mechanic. To rescue his wife, Wigo must advance through the game’s titular tower. Each floor features one puzzle; solving it reveals a set of stairs to reach the next level.
The puzzles are clever and fun to solve. You typically need to move an object or activate a switch to access something. Along the way are many books to read and collect. Once discovered, these books can be accessed at any time from the pause menu. This is important because they often present clues to one of the puzzles.
There are ten levels to complete at first. At this point an event occurs that opens up the world slightly and gives Wigo the opportunity to explore a little further. The next time you come across the tower, you’ll have ten more levels to work through as well as a clever little boss fight.
Apparently, this second half of the story is new to the Switch and Game Boy versions. It’s a great way to expand this short game. Having said that, you’ll still be done with the game in a couple of hours. Thankfully, it’s priced accordingly at $7.99. Hey, it’s cheaper than a movie and potentially lasts longer than one.
Apart from the game’s short runtime, there are a few typos in the English version that could use fixing. It doesn’t ruin things, but it does feel a little unpolished. The game could also use some way to monitor your progress through the tower. I now know there are ten levels each time, but I had no idea until I was finished. It’s not a big deal, but might be a nice feature for the next iteration.
Overall, Black Tower Enigma is a short game that sports a neat retro look. The puzzle mechanic is a nice change of pace, and I love some of the color-switching options available. There’s a nice little story about orcs that could have been expanded, but I appreciate what the developers were going for. And I love the idea of a physical Game Boy cartridge.
Review: Black Tower Enigma (Nintendo Switch)
Good
Black Tower Enigma may be short, but it’s a cool-looking retro title with a heavy focus on puzzles. It’s a fun time while it lasts, with some additions like fishing, collectibles, and color-switching options to keep things going. I’d like to see more from Wigo in the future. And it’s super cool to see the classic Game Boy get some love.
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