The latest eShop offering from RCMADIAX, PENTAPUZZLE has you manipulating various shapes to fill in grids.  You can slide and spin each piece all around, but everyone needs to be used.  No empty spaces are allowed either, as the entire grid must be filled from top to bottom.  The gameplay is easily grasped, yet the solutions will challenge you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6YvBABAkts

The puzzles are broken down into five categories (sorted by difficulty) as well as a sixth special one.  The bulk of the puzzles are difficult, but being able to select from any of them right at the outset helps in eliminating frustration.  While linear puzzlers will often lock out the majority of content, this game gives you full access to hop about and check out all it has to offer.  It’s definitely the better for it, although you’ll probably still want to proceed in order more often than not for balance sake.

Pentapuzzle - menu

The touch driven controls work well for manipulating pieces with the stylus , although I would’ve enjoyed an optional button setup as well.  Each level saves your personal best time, which is a fairly compelling incentive to come back at a later occasion and try to best it.  Sharing them on the games Miiverse community can add a competitive flair also.

I want to comment on the puzzles under the special category, namely that I wish there were even more of them.  I would’ve gladly sacrificed one of the three hard modes for more of these.  Not only are you given additional shapes to work with, but the grids take on fun shapes beyond basic squares and rectangles.  These fifteen are among the best, and most difficult puzzles in the game.

Pentapuzzle

In what’s become the norm for RCMADIAX, only a single track plays throughout the game.  It’s a pleasant composition though, and didn’t make me long to listen to something else.  It’s certainly preferable to playing in silence with just sound effects.  Repetition is always a concern, but this game is best when not played for extended sessions anyway.  It’s more ideal for knocking out a few puzzles here and there.  Unlike say Blok Drop U, this isn’t a title you’ll buzz through in an hour or so.

There are many puzzle choices on the Wii U eShop, but that doesn’t negate the fact that PENTAPUZZLE is a pretty good download. It’s true that at $4.49, it is priced higher than prior RCMADIAX releases.  However it’s still a modest cost, and I feel appropriate give the game’s content and replayability.  Its challenge will keep you occupied for a while, and you’ll want to see the game through to completion.  For puzzle fans, I offer my recommendation.

RCMADIAX