Settris is a budget puzzle game that is a merger of Blokus, Glass Masquerade and Tetris. The player is presented with a selection of blocks like they’ve been stolen from Tetris and then like the other two games mentioned, you’ll have to fit them all inside a defined space. It is a simple game that does exactly what it says on the tin. No more, no less.
The game is split into two modes. Stage mode brings 80 hand built levels with increasing complexity. Starting out with simple squares and three shapes to fit them in, Settris eases you in gently. However after half way, the challenge really arrives with up to ten blocks needing to fit into defined spaces. You can rotate and flip every block which opens up the potential solutions and with no hint system, there is a mixture of logic and trial and error to get the finished article done. many puzzles have walls to build around and others have areas marked out in a certain colour. This means you have to lay down a tile of that colour type on those blocks – nothing else will fit. Oddly, this sometimes helps – a bit like the opening part of a sudoku – to get your process in order.
The second mode I found more fun – time attack. Available in 3, 4 or 5 blocks, you are given 5 minutes to solve as many randomly generated puzzles as possible. This is then placed onto an online leaderboard for Settris glory. By keeping the puzzles quite simple, the game flips from being a sedate and calming experience to one of twitch reactions. I found myself quickly visualising the solution in my head and then racing ahead to plonk the blocks down. The 5 block puzzles did have me looking silly on occasion so I had to replay it a few times to not have a terrible score!
For just over £2, Settris delivers a decent experience. This game is ripe for a 2 player head to head mode where you race to solve puzzles. If that was included, this would be a no-brainer recommendation. However, what’s here is well put together and enjoyable. I also really clicked with its late 90’s/early 00’s arcade vibe. Colourful graphics, big UI, bold house music and chonky everything – it suits the mood well.
Settris looks and plays unassumingly but its another solid entry into the budget puzzle genre. There is something very 1998 Taito puzzle era about that I just gelled with. Enjoyable for the price.
Review copy provided by publisher. Out now on Steam.
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