There are some developers where if you hear the name, you will instantly think of a series; Square Enix will bring you to Final Fantasy, FromSoftware gives you Dark Souls, and Bart Bonte is making waves with a colour series of puzzle games, such as Blue.
The aim of each level is simple on the surface, complete each puzzle and turn the screen blue, hence the name. However, where would the fun be if that’s all there was to it? In Blue, each level has different goals to complete, and you get zero instruction on how to do so. That means you must tap, drag and pinch your way through the forest of indecision until you find the magic mechanic that makes it work. The lack of obvious controls is the whole fun of the game, and they aren't overly taxing, so you shouldn't be stuck too long on most levels.
Of course, managing to discover the mechanic is one thing, but you still need to complete the puzzle, and there is the odd level where no matter what I tried, I couldn't figure out what the game wanted. Luckily, Blue has a handy little hint system with a few pointers per level to push you in the right direction. They handle it well, with the first hint not giving you the immediate answer, so you can still get that rush of big-brain chemicals when you fully figure out the method.
To give credit where it is due because this is quite rare, Blue strikes a balance between its monetization tactics and player enjoyment. You can complete most levels quickly, so Bart Bonte could easily have decided to throw an ad after every level and call it a day. But surprisingly, that doesn’t happen. Instead, the ads only appear when you request a hint or back out to the main menu. It is a commendable move from the developer to show they value the player's time.
That is not to say there aren’t any monetization options. It just isn't thrust into your face. Players can upgrade to the Premium upgrade, which removes the minimal ads, and presumably gives you unlimited free hints, alongside the opportunity to support Bart Bonte. It is only £1.99, so if you can spare it, why not support the future instalments? We are still missing Purple.
Now, for the slight disappointment among the amusement. Blue has 50 levels, which is a fair amount but not so many that you would expect repetition. On multiple occasions, puzzles with similar solutions popped up. There is also a scattering of others with familiar mechanics. Bart Bonte has put out a few of these colour-based puzzle games now, so you can forgive that to some extent. But in the same game, it feels a little lazy.
