Is This Seat Taken? review - "A fun yet frustrating puzzle game"

• Challenging puzzles
• Lack of a hint system makes for frustrating moments
• Cute characters, but no narrative

Is This Seat Taken? from developer Poti Poti Studio is a new puzzle experience in which you are tasked with seating a group of characters. Sounds easy, right? And it would be if everyone didn’t have their own seating preferences. Pay attention to each passenger’s wants and dislikes as you assign them seats in buses, boats, and more.

Is This Seat Taken? Focuses on Gameplay or a Narrative

Is This Seat Taken? doesn’t really have a storyline. However, some levels feature conversations between characters at the beginning and between rounds. These scenes can be cute, but don't really add much to the experience. One diamond-shaped character, Nat, seems to be obsessed with movie star Luca. But other than that, I didn't find any of the conversations to be memorable.

---

• Pokemon Friends review - "Cute daily Pokemon puzzles"

---

Is This Seat Taken? features simplistic controls. Tap and drag a character to move them to the desired spot. Simply tapping a character will bring up their information, including their name, whether they are a child or adult, and their seating preferences. The simplicity of the controls lets you focus all your brain power on getting each individual happily seated.

The gameplay is straightforward. Simply pay attention to each character’s preferences and arrange the group so that everyone is satisfied. The puzzles start out fairly easy. If a character wants a window seat, don't give them an aisle seat and vice versa. However, after the first few levels, the complexity ramps up.

Is This Seat Taken? is Surprisingly Challenging

Soon you’ll have to deal with people who forgot to shower or are doused in cologne. Characters who don’t like strong smells can’t be seated near either type of person. Some want to relax or even sleep on the bus, while others want to play loud music or talk.

It can be frustrating in later levels trying to leave enough space between loud and relaxing individuals, especially since there is no hint system to help you out.

You can see how many surrounding seats will be affected by a character’s smell or noise level by tapping them once they’re in a seat. Estimating how much space you need between someone who wants a relaxing boat ride and someone who wants to party will get easier as you go. On the contrary, each new level you unlock presents a greater challenge than the last.

Earn Stars in Is This Seat Taken to Unlock Bonus Levels

The levels are divided into chapters, each representing a city such as Barcelona or London, which is kind of cute. Further, every level has a specific number of stars that can be earned by making passengers happy.

If you're stuck, you can always complete a level as long as most of the people are content. However, doing so means you'll miss out on some stars. Each city features a special level that can only be unlocked by earning full stars on all levels in the chapter.

Is This Seat Taken? is a mostly fun puzzler that offers quite a challenge despite its simplicity. The game lacks a story, so if you need one to feel immersed, this one might not be for you. The lack of any sort of hint system is a bit disappointing.

Still, with intuitive controls and easy to learn, hard to master gameplay, Is This Seat Taken? is a decent little puzzle experience that true fans of the genre will likely enjoy.