Lord Ambermaze: Prologue

El mejor Sokoban que he tenido el placer de probar y además una estética, música y narrativa muy relajantes. Me encanta que la primera vez que superas los niveles no te presionen con el número de movimientos y que cuando terminas entera cada mazmorra te compare en un Ranking de tiempos con el resto de jugadores para entonces si quieres ir a tryhardear tu habilidad e intentar colarte en uno de los primeros puestos. Las habilidades me parecen clásicas, y el diseño de escenarios es lo suficientemente accesible para suponer un reto sin desesperarte. Tiene mecánicas como consiguir monedas o regresar a por flechas a habitaciones anteriores, que si quieres pueden hacer que la partida te resulte más sencilla. Y de todas formas, la muerte no penaliza en exceso. No obstante, puedes afrontarlo a base de prueba y error o intentar pasar cada habitación a la primera, eso ya depende de tu forma de jugar y disfrutar un puzle.

Lord Ambermaze: Prologue is a small turn based dungeon game that caught me off guard because the main idea is much smarter than it first looks. I am playing as Zeyn, a young adventurer carrying a sword, bow and bombs, and I have to move through a maze where time only moves when I move. That one rule changes everything. I cannot just run around and hope for the best because every step can also give an enemy a chance to move or activate a trap. It makes even a very small room feel like something I actually need to think about. The puzzle side is easily my favourite part. The game has more than thirty one screen challenges, and I am usually trying to work out how to reach the exit while dealing with enemies, traps and objects that block my path. Sometimes the easiest way to win is not attacking anything at all. I can move enemies into traps, wait for the right moment to use a bomb or position myself so I only have to deal with one threat at a time. I really like that because the game rewards planning rather than simply giving me stronger equipment and asking me to hit everything harder. The combat itself is simple but fits the puzzle design really well. I have the sword for close attacks, the bow for ranged damage and bombs for situations where I need to hit something in a different way. I have to think about which one I use because every action affects what happens next. This makes the combat feel closer to solving a puzzle than playing a normal action RPG. I also like that the enemies are part of the environment rather than just targets waiting to be killed. Understanding how they move is just as important as understanding my own abilities. There is a nice amount of variety considering how small the prologue is. Different rooms introduce new traps and enemy combinations, and the game keeps asking me to rethink the way I approach the maze. There is also an exclusive boss that is only found in this prologue, so it does not simply feel like the opening few minutes of the main game. The speedrun mode is another good addition because once I understand the puzzles, I can try to work through them quickly and improve my route. I like having that extra challenge because the normal completion and speedrun versions of the game feel quite different. The biggest weakness for me is obviously the fact that it is still just a prologue. I can finish the available content fairly quickly, and once I have solved the puzzles there is not a huge amount left for me to discover. The challenge comes from improving my solutions rather than getting new abilities or building a character, so the progression is limited by design. I also think some rooms can be frustrating when I have misunderstood one small detail and end up having to rethink the whole solution. I enjoy that most of the time, but there are definitely moments where I have to stop and work out what the game is actually expecting from me. The pixel art and strange enemies give it a lot of charm too. I like the idea of fighting predatory vegetables and insects in a frozen time labyrinth because it keeps the game lighthearted without taking away from the actual strategy. The top down view makes the rooms easy to read, which is important when every square matters. There is also a short story leading into the larger Lord Ambermaze adventure, but I think the gameplay is the main reason I would play this rather than the story itself. The fact that the prologue is completely free makes the short length much easier for me to accept. Overall, Lord Ambermaze: Prologue is a clever little puzzle game that makes a very simple rule carry most of the experience. I really like the frozen time mechanic, the way enemies can be used against themselves, the different weapons and the one screen puzzle design. The main limitation is simply that there is not enough of it to become one of my bigger games, and I would have liked a little more variety before reaching the end. Still, I think the core idea is strong enough that I came away wanting to see what the full game does with it, and for a free prologue this is a very good way of showing what the series is about. Rating: 7.6/10