Game Reviews

TwoDots

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iOS
| TwoDots
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TwoDots
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iOS
| TwoDots

TwoDots, like its predecessor Dots, is a game about connecting.

It might not sound very interesting, especially when you discover that the gameplay really does begin and end with drawing connecting lines between coloured dots.

But thanks to a few quirks and great presentation, TwoDots proves to be something of a puzzle game gem.

Get in line

The game takes place on a board that consists of various sized grids populated with coloured dots. The objective is to remove as many as possible.

In TwoDots you achieve this by tracing a horizontal or vertical line through adjacent dots. You can't use diagonal lines, which makes removing the spots that bit more challenging.

You can zig-zag around as long as you're connecting dots of the same colour, and you'll end up with a line that looks like a set of steps.

You get extra points for longer matches, and once the line is complete, the dots are removed and more drop in from above.

Each level has a set number of particular coloured dots you need to remove. There might be a lot of green, purple, and yellow dots in a grid, but the task you're given is to clear 25 blue and 25 red.

And you need to clear them in a limited number of moves. It's necessary to remove dots that don't actually go into the level-completing tally too, so you need to plan as carefully as possible when drawing your lines.

Complete connections

There's a limit to how much you can manipulate the board into delivering longer combinations, as you might in a match-three game, but TwoDots has one more unique mechanic up its sleeve.

Though it's a rare occurrence, if you can create a square or rectangle, all dots of that colour evaporate from the board. This is the secret to nailing the high scores and completing the tougher levels, since every single dot is added to your quota.

With every dot of a single colour disappearing, your chances of finding - or maybe even creating - another connected square are greatly increased, so landing that first one is essential and adds real excitement to the game.

If you can draw a square around a dot or two - of any colour - those encased dots become bombs that remove surrounding dots.

Once you've figured this tactic out, creating those combos becomes an all encompassing drive that keeps TwoDots lively and addictive.

The minimalist gameplay is beautifully offset by some stunning, simplistic design work around the level selection screen and menus, which adds some delicious icing to the already tasty game cake.

TwoDots is a worthy sequel that manages not to repeat itself, and makes a unique and exciting experience out of some ultra-simple gameplay mechanics.

TwoDots

Clever and beautiful are a winning combination, and TwoDots has both in abundance
Score
Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.