Enigmo: Explore

Enigmo is a series of physics-puzzlers in which you have to use a selection of objects to redirect water from one or more dripping taps into a bottle. Springs cause the drops to bounce, for instance, while sponges catch liquid and leak it directly downward.

I've never played one of the series before, but this third iteration, Engimo: Explore, follows the current trend for minimal instruction. There's no tutorial or tips, so it's down to you to figure out how to solve the puzzle.

While this could be the basis for some fascinating experimental gameplay, it's been laid on a little thick. Some of the tools you get have quite obscure functions, and the no-hints approach extends to interaction with the scenery, which can prove equally obtuse.

Sadly, the frustration factor applies to multiple aspects of the gameplay. The controls are annoyingly clumsy, yet some of the levels require very fine manipulation in order to succeed. And hovering over the whole thing like a tyrannical punch-clock is a timer that dictates how many stars you'll get based on how fast you finish the level.

Hidden information, imprecise controls, and a timer turns out to be a recipe for colossal frustration.

Engimo: Explore does its best to calm you down with a lovely soothing soundtrack, all gentle electronic noises and the quiet splashing of water. But that just made me want to go to the toilet.

It's not a bad game. Once you've learned what the objects do and trained yourself to ignore the clock, it offers some solid and intriguing puzzling, rewarding imagination, and experimentation to balance out the cold logic.

All in all, it's a glimpse of a cracking game that could have been with tighter development and a little more polish.