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ONGOING: Two Eyes
Do you like nonogram (AKA Picross) puzzles? Do you like lots of nonogram puzzles? No really, do you like a seriously worrying amount of nonogram puzzles? Do you like cute sad stories and cute sad art? Well, then, have I got recommendation for you!
Two Eyes is a nonogram puzzle collection. It follows the standard mobile game formula of being free or like $3 to turn off the ads, which for the most part maintain a balance on their obtrusiveness. It definitely feels good to have them off, but the game is far from unplayable or anything with them. It's fine, just a luxury, but a nice one.
It divides its puzzles into two categories: "Dreamy" puzzles appear to be unrelated shapes and images that have nothing to do with anything, just a pure nonogram experience with relaxing piano music. "Journey" puzzles are this game's "story mode," if you will. They come as parts of a larger grid of images (usually 6x6), and once you've completed the entire grid's worth of puzzles, it unlocks a full image with a little blurb from the story underneath; slowly work your way through all of these to watch the tale unfold. From what I can see so far, this is a story about two perfect soulmate-tier lovers who died and wished to meet again in their next lives, and so they did... as a hungry wolf and a deer he was stalking for prey before they (maybe?) recognized each other. The presentation is dripping with DeviantArt "native" stylings (those feathers and headband on the wolf, wow... and he's even heterochromatic because of course he is) but it works and I find the whole thing striking and beautiful.
I guess the big issue for me is the sheer scale of the mountain we're climbing, here. A 6x6 grid of nonograms = 36 puzzles per story beat, times at least 18 nodes per path (the wolf and deer each have their own story/side of the story) just to get to what appear to be three big combined merged nodes at the end, equals something like 1,300 puzzles just for Journey mode, assuming you're here for the story and are completely ignoring the entire Dreamy side. I've gotten into a habit of doing three puzzles a night just before I go to sleep, and at that pace it will take me well over a year to chew through all these nonograms. I'm planting the seed now for what will probably be a very well-earned Rita nomination in 2021 or 2022.
But daunting as the task may be, I persevere, because this game is beautiful and I'm greatly enjoying the nightly foray into it. I'm invested in this story and want to see where it goes, even if I only get to read a paragraph of it once every twelve days or so. It's serene and relaxing and... it's maybe a little early to call it moving, but I can definitely see it striving for beauty and I expect some heart-string tugging in the future.
Random unrelated side note 1: The deer is constantly and consistently referred to as female but is just as constantly and consistently presented with that massive rack of antlers, so I personally choose to believe that she's trans. Sorry, I'm the giant rat that makes all of the rules, it's canon now.
Random unrelated side note 2: If you like the idea of a waiting room style puzzle collection with vaguely nativey story nodes between the puzzles, a pretty and artful aesthetic, etc. basically everything in Two Eyes except that you hate nonograms, specifically, then this same company also has a sudoku one. I may consider that one someday after Two Eyes, but "someday after Two Eyes" is kind of a ways off considering how much Two Eyes there is in Two Eyes.
Two Eyes is a nonogram puzzle collection. It follows the standard mobile game formula of being free or like $3 to turn off the ads, which for the most part maintain a balance on their obtrusiveness. It definitely feels good to have them off, but the game is far from unplayable or anything with them. It's fine, just a luxury, but a nice one.
It divides its puzzles into two categories: "Dreamy" puzzles appear to be unrelated shapes and images that have nothing to do with anything, just a pure nonogram experience with relaxing piano music. "Journey" puzzles are this game's "story mode," if you will. They come as parts of a larger grid of images (usually 6x6), and once you've completed the entire grid's worth of puzzles, it unlocks a full image with a little blurb from the story underneath; slowly work your way through all of these to watch the tale unfold. From what I can see so far, this is a story about two perfect soulmate-tier lovers who died and wished to meet again in their next lives, and so they did... as a hungry wolf and a deer he was stalking for prey before they (maybe?) recognized each other. The presentation is dripping with DeviantArt "native" stylings (those feathers and headband on the wolf, wow... and he's even heterochromatic because of course he is) but it works and I find the whole thing striking and beautiful.
I guess the big issue for me is the sheer scale of the mountain we're climbing, here. A 6x6 grid of nonograms = 36 puzzles per story beat, times at least 18 nodes per path (the wolf and deer each have their own story/side of the story) just to get to what appear to be three big combined merged nodes at the end, equals something like 1,300 puzzles just for Journey mode, assuming you're here for the story and are completely ignoring the entire Dreamy side. I've gotten into a habit of doing three puzzles a night just before I go to sleep, and at that pace it will take me well over a year to chew through all these nonograms. I'm planting the seed now for what will probably be a very well-earned Rita nomination in 2021 or 2022.
But daunting as the task may be, I persevere, because this game is beautiful and I'm greatly enjoying the nightly foray into it. I'm invested in this story and want to see where it goes, even if I only get to read a paragraph of it once every twelve days or so. It's serene and relaxing and... it's maybe a little early to call it moving, but I can definitely see it striving for beauty and I expect some heart-string tugging in the future.
Random unrelated side note 1: The deer is constantly and consistently referred to as female but is just as constantly and consistently presented with that massive rack of antlers, so I personally choose to believe that she's trans. Sorry, I'm the giant rat that makes all of the rules, it's canon now.
Random unrelated side note 2: If you like the idea of a waiting room style puzzle collection with vaguely nativey story nodes between the puzzles, a pretty and artful aesthetic, etc. basically everything in Two Eyes except that you hate nonograms, specifically, then this same company also has a sudoku one. I may consider that one someday after Two Eyes, but "someday after Two Eyes" is kind of a ways off considering how much Two Eyes there is in Two Eyes.