Logica Emotica review - "Using emotions and logic to solve puzzles"

Whether you're trying to patch up a broken heart or figuring out how to water some plants, Logica Emotica makes you feel like a genius in short-but-sweet bursts. The puzzler features a clean and minimalistic look with 50 puzzles to challenge your brain cells, but is it worth the time and effort?

Table of contents:

• Logica Emotica visuals
• Logica Emotica gameplay
• Logica Emotica verdict

LOGICA EMOTICA VISUALS

With nothing but a bunch of emoticons laid out on a portrait-mode screen, Logica Emotica is a visual treat when it comes to neatness. The UI is simple and intuitive, with no overly complicated controls or cluttered icons littering your screen. The puzzler gives players that same minimalistic experience you can expect from Bart Bonte - I've played a few of his creations before and they all have a similarly pleasing vibe.

I wasn't particularly fond of the background music, though. In fact, I found myself toggling off the music in the settings just a handful of levels into the game. It felt a little distracting and tacky to me, and not at all relaxing (which was somehow my idea of the game coming into this). Thankfully, you don't really need the music to enjoy the gameplay, which is truly a work of genius.

THE GAMEPLAY OF LOGICA EMOTICA

The puzzles themselves require a lot of logic as there are no instructions, text, or tutorials to help you get started. You'll simply be faced with a new emoticon you have to think your way out of with each new level, and because the icons themselves are pretty intuitive, all you have to do is tap on them to see what they do and how you can actually solve the puzzle.

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This requires a bit of trial and error on your part at first, but thankfully, there's a handy button to undo your last action or to reset the whole level. This is especially useful for those puzzles where one wrong turn or move can get you stuck - and there are a lot of them.

In case you do find yourself backed into a corner, you can always tap on the hint icon to watch an ad and reveal the solution to the problem. Ads aren't intrusive either, which is honestly great value for such a polished game.

WHAT'S THE APPEAL?

The puzzles here are nothing too difficult, but they do offer a sense of accomplishment each time you clear a level. Some of the solutions to puzzles have also been done elsewhere, but it's the presentation that makes the game stand out. I also really enjoyed the fact that it doesn't punish you for not getting things right, thanks to the undo and reset buttons (and the hint system, of course).

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It's not the most strategic title out there, nor does it have any kind of replayability, but I suppose it doesn't really want to. A game like this is obviously meant to be played in quick bursts, which is a fantastic way to spend the time when you're itching for a short but scintillating break.