Block Legend

It's easy to get swept up in the rat-a-tat gameplay of Block Legend and miss out on the fine detail. This is a game that's dripping in glorious little touches that build a brilliant pixel-art fantasy world for you to adventure through.

Each puzzle-based jaunt through dungeons, forests, and snow-capped mountains sees you discovering something new, from hilariously named vampire assailants to clever spells that play around with what you'd expect from a puzzle-RPG.

And while the mechanics of the game might not be the most original, they're held together with such warmth and passion that it's almost impossible not to fall under the game's spell.

There's always a reason to wander out again in search of dragons, new equipment, and more powerful, interesting heroes.

You start out by picking a hero. To begin with you've got a couple of knights to choose from, but as the game goes on you'll unlock mages, basketball players, accountants, and all manner of other ridiculous protagonists.

From there you're dropped into a fantasy world populated by oozing slime creatures, angry behemoths, and magical castles that want nothing more than the chance to stomp you to death and end your adventure.

The main strand of play happens in a grid of squares, each emblazoned with a marker. Your hero bimbles along a map across the top punctuated with settlements where you can buy new goods and equipment, ending in a fearsome red skull-beast-thing that indicates a boss fight.

At random points along the way you'll be beset by monsters. You fight them by tapping clusters of swords and spells on the grid. Clearing shields adds to your defence, and getting rid of hearts pushes up your health bar a little.

The grid is still there when you're walking, but the swords are replaced with XP tiles which up your level a little. Gold coins and loot-filled chests can be grabbed to fill your coffers as well.

In the scraps a meter shows how many turns of yours it'll take before the enemy takes a swing at you. Tougher enemies will have a bash at you after a couple of goes, while weaker foes can quite often be beaten before they go for you.

Each of the different heroes has a set of four skills, one of which can be upgraded each time you level-up. Mages deal damage with intelligence, and warriors use their strength to smash foes with swords.

Upping your vitality adds to your HP and increases your armour as well. Agility increases your critical hit rate, ability to dodge, and means more gold will pop up when you're out and about.

Finishing quests and beating big bosses gives you Star Tokens, which you use to unlock new starting areas and extra heroes to play through the game with.

Different heroes subtly change the way the game plays, making you shift and keep different tiles to keep alive.

Block Legend is a simple game of pushing forwards, learning new strategies, and unlocking fresh characters to add to the challenge of the game.

Knocking down tougher bosses and pushing onto areas you haven't seen before is a real joy, compounded by the wonderful pixel-presentation that runs throughout the whole game.

It might not be the freshest game on the market, but every beat is so wonderfully balanced that you play with a smile constantly plastered on your face.