Tidalis

Pretty creative puzzle game with some interesting game modes and a lot of variants. The basic "streams" mechanic to connect and remove blocks is novel and adds more challenge than typical match-3, but on the other hand it makes combos rather hard to visualize and achieve, especially when trying to chain several ones. The "casual-friendly adventure mode" claim isn't exactly true, the campaign can get extremely difficult at times, in random spikes. Thankfully you can skip levels if you so desire, but it feels bad. The story is also badly written to the point of being cringeworthy. In typical Arcen Games fashion you have a lot of options to set up a game but it feels like it lacks good casual defaults that still present some amount of challenge. Despite the defects and confused presentation, the game has a lot to offer if you're willing to dig into the various modes proposed and "find your fun", so I'm cautiously recommending it on that basis. Be aware that the game graphics don't scale to modern screen resolutions (it seems to be targeting 1280x720?), they just get smaller.

I recommend but with caveats. Yes, it's a neat little game that blends Tetris and "match three" games. Plus lots of variations and block types to keep things interesting. The only problem is that in creating complexity, Tidalis has forgotten what made the individual games attractive: simplicity. At its best, Tetris was very easy to start and hard to master, but there was a whole lot of leeway in between those extremes to enjoy before things got too frantic. Same with the match three stuff. By combining them, you add stress to what should be a relaxing and entertaining challenge. It's overall well made and has a great soundtrack. But the story is tedious and the developers seem to know this as they've added a "skip cut scene" button to bypass all of it if you want. I had a lot of fun early on but as it became more complicated it was more work and less play. Combinations, series of combinations, combinations of a minimum length, chains of combinations that didn't exceed a certain length, blocks that attract or repel your stream, blocks that block your stream, blocks that can be destroyed and blocks that can't be destroyed. And I'm barely scratching the surface here. Also, playing on a high resolution monitor (2K or 4K) can cause the play area to be an eyestrain because it may appear too small and it doesn't scale. I give it a thumbs up for being pretty well made but if you get frustrated easily, you might want to pass.

Just tried installing in 2020 - the game won't go past the "game start" screen (no options to continue).

This is a puzzle game reminiscent of match-3 or tetris, but it is a genuinely innovative game. It has a huge number and variety of puzzles, giving new spins to the mechanics or using them in different contexts. A great game for a very low price, I see no reason to not get it.

Bad

[h1]✨ THE ABSOLUTE ULTIMATE TITANIC TIDALIS TERMINATION: THE BLOODY BUSTER MULTIVERSE MADDENED MASHUP ✨[/h1] The Setting: The industrial garage has transformed into a high-stakes, interdimensional bunker. The reinforced roof has partially collapsed under the staggering weight of the watchers; Tiny (Dota 2), Galio, and The Thing have settled their massive forms into the architecture, their stony faces peering through the jagged ceiling like a living mountain range. 🗿🗿🗿 Inside, the atmosphere is electric. Braum stands like a sentinel at the center, his massive door-shield acting as a physical barrier against the radiant light pouring from a screen that is currently humming at a critical frequency. Lux and Karma flank the hardware, weaving a complex web of Prismatic shields and spiritual Mantras to keep the equipment stable. Every eye in the room—from the mercenaries on the toolboxes to the mages on the grease-stained floor—is locked onto the screen. Jinx: [Smashing the mouse with the force of a thousand Super Mega Death Rockets] 🖱️💥 IF YOU WANT TO GO, THEN YOU GO TO THE HILL AND GO DOWN! WHY ARE YOU GETTING WILD, GIRL? IF A GIRL GETS WILD—ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU’RE FLIPPING... YOU ARE FLIPPING! 🤬🎢 Tiny (Dota 2): [Staring through the roof in silence] 🗿 Galio: [Peering through the hole in the ceiling in silence] 🗿 The Thing: [Squinting at the monitor in silence] 🗿 Karma: [Eyes glowing with Ionian spirit] 🧘‍♀️ Peace is a choice, Jinx. But this combo... this combo is a test of my infinite patience. Saela Vi! (Which translates to: "Don't click that red one, you buster!") ✨🌀 Lux: [Hyperventilating while casting shields] STAY POSITIVE! We can do this! Even if the UI looks like it was drawn by a confused scuttle crab! Just... focus on the light! 💡✨🌈 Tiny Tina: [From Tiny's head] EXPLOSION-TIME! MAKE THE SQUARES GO SHRAPNEL-Y, BLUE-GIRL! CLEAR THE GRID! CLEAR MY FEELINGS! 💣🔥 Jinx: YOU FLIPPING, FLIPPING YOU! YOU, YOU, BUSTER, BISCUIT! YOU’RE A BUSTER! FORGET YOU! FLIPPING MOTHER FLIP BISCUIT! 🍪💢 Gaige: [Screaming at the monitor, finger wagging aggressively] ☝️🌀 I AM ROTATING THE ARROWS! I AM OPTIMIZING THE SINUSOIDAL EFFICIENCY! WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING? IT SEEMS YOU ARE GOING TO DO ACCIDENT! 🚗⚠️🤯 Tiny (Dota 2): [Voice like tectonic plates grinding together] 🗿 The small ginger one. She has the metal arm. She is very loud. Like a landslide but with the shouting. Buster girl. Galio: [Rumbling with the weight of a cathedral] 🗿 I see the blue girl. She is of the magic. But the magic is... It is doing an accident. No good man. The Thing: [Cracking his knuckles] 🗿 It’s Clobberin’ Time, but for my ears. This game is a pile of gravel. Why is the orange block not matching? This is a total buster move. Lina: [Hands glowing with rage] CRYSTAL MAIDEN, STOP FREEZING THE BOARD! I was about to trigger a Fire-Stream and you turned the blocks into ice cubes! You’re a buster, Rylai! ☄️🔥 Crystal Maiden: [Sobbing frozen tears] I’m just trying to slow down the panic! The arrows are moving too fast! You’re the buster, sister! ❄️😭 Johnny Storm: [Flame on! 🔥] Hey, ladies! If I melt both your blocks, does that count as a tie? Or am I just the hottest thing in this garage? Tidehunter: [Roaring] KUNKKA! GIVE ME THE MOUSE! I WANT TO EAT THE GREEN BLOCKS! THEY LOOK LIKE SEAWEED! 🌊🐙 Kunkka: [Brandishing a cutlass] YOU’LL EAT COLD STEEL BEFORE YOU TOUCH THE FLOW, YOU OVERGROWN CALAMARI! THE TIDALIS IS MINE! ⚓️⚔️ Nilah: [Laughing hysterically] THE JOY OF THIS DISORDER! THE BLISS OF THE BUSTER! IT IS EXQUISITE! 🌊✨ Briar: [Snapping her jaws at the screen] IS THE YELLOW BLOCK FOOD? I’M SO HUNGRY I COULD EAT THE PIXELS! LET ME BITE THE COMBO! 🦷 Revy: [Blowing smoke into the fan] 🚬💨 I’ve seen smarter tactical decisions from a drunk yordle with a blindfold! Move over, Rebecca! Rebecca (Edgerunners): [Pointing two shotguns at Revy’s head] SHUT IT, REBECCA! I AM THE REBECCA WHO ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDS HOW TO CLICK WITH CYBER-ENHANCED AGGRESSION! 🦾🔫💢 Ziggs: [Spinning in circles] GETTING ZIGGY WITH IT! NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA! BOOM, BABY! 💣✨💃 Mr. Torgue: [Flexing so hard his shirt disintegrates] I WANT TO SEE THE ROCK MEN FIGHT THE MONITOR! MOOAAARRRR EXPLOSIONNNNSS! 🎸🔥💥 Squee (Techies): [Giggling] Is the green arrow the one that makes the sound? Spleen: Just press the detonator, you absolute flipping buster! 🧨🐹 Lulu: [Turning a red block into a cupcake] That block tasted like purple! Now the stream is a fairy-friend! 🧁✨ Tristana: [Loading Boomer] TARGET ACQUIRED! IF THE MATCH DOESN'T HAPPEN, I’M BLASTING THE ENTIRE BOARD INTO THE NEXT PATCH! 🚀🎯 Braum: [Holding his shield over the equipment] STAND BEHIND BRAUM! THESE PIXELS ARE JUST CONFUSED! 🛡️🧔‍♂️💦 Maya: [From her bubble] I’m going to go meditate for three centuries. This is a siren's nightmare. 🧘‍♀️ Miss Fortune: [Leaning back] Ten credits says the screen clears before the combo ends. Any takers? 🪙🏴‍☠️ Neeko: [As Jinx] Neeko is not a buster! Neeko is a strong tomato! 🍅✨ Zoe: [Throwing stardust at the monitor] What if the arrows pointed at yesterday? Wouldn't that be fun?! 🌌✨ Lucy: [Eyes glowing blue] I’m trying to rewrite the logic... but the code is ancient. It’s all buster variables. 🦾💾 Gwen: [Snip-snapping the air] Oh dear! I’ll just cut the busters out of the air and replace them with lace! 🧵✂️👗 Taliyah: [Trying to knit the monitor together with rocks] The tapestry of this board is unraveling! Stop throwing the match! 🧶🪨 Zyra: [Vines tightening around the desk] My plants are wilting from the sheer frustration of this conversation. 🌿🥀 LeBlanc: [Adjusting her cape] Such a dull performance. This game isn’t a puzzle; it’s a tragedy. 🎭 Bard: [Makes a sound like a synthesizer falling down a flight of stairs] 🎶🎷🌀 Windranger: [Aiming a Shackleshot] I could shoot an arrow through the colors faster than you guys can click! 🏹💚 Drow Ranger: [From the shadows] Silence. All of you. You’re clicking like creeps. ❄️🏹 Nunu: [On Willump’s shoulders] Willump says the blue blocks look like tasty ice cubes! 🧊❄️ Enchantress: [Twitching ears] 👁️👄👁️... Is... is this how humans play? It’s not very "sproink" at all. ✨ Lillia: [Closing her eyes] 👁️👄👁️... 🗿... 🥹... 🦌💤 Vex: [Shadow-palming] This is so... colorful. I hate it. Can we just be quiet in the dark? 🌚💀 Lara Croft: [Recording on a tape recorder] Day 4: The orange girl has started barking in a dialect I can only describe as "High-Octane Mumbai." 🗿📖 Claptrap: [Waving his arms] LOOK AT ME! I AM DANCING TO THE RYHTHM OF YOUR BUSTER FAILURE! UNCE UNCE UNCE! 🤖🎧 Rebecca (Edgerunners): [Firing at a yellow block] Take that, you neon-colored piece of junk! 🦾🔫 Lulu: [Giggling] Look, Pix! The arrows are doing a little dance for us! 🧚‍♂️✨ Tiny (Dota 2): 🗿 Look at the orange rock. It is a buster rock. Galio: 🗿 I see it. It is doing an accident. 🗿 Gaige: [Grabbing Jinx’s pigtails like she's steering a rickshaw through a monsoon] 🚲🌧️ BUT—BUT THE THING IS THAT, WHAT YOU THINK IS IF YOU DO LIKE THIS ONE, YOU ARE GOING AT WORK AND SOMEBODY ELSE LIKE ME! WHAT CAN I DO IF YOU ARE RUNNING LIKE THAT MAN?! YOU’RE GOING TO FLIPPING FALL, HURTING YOURSELF! KEEP YOUR EYES ON ROAD MAN! 🛑🚗😤 Jinx: [Suddenly stops as the combined chaos clears the entire board in one frame of pure white light] ⚪💥 ...But—yeah, because of this click you saved my time. Tiny (Dota 2): 🗿 The squares are gone. The event is over. Galio: 🗿 No good. The Thing: 🗿 What a revoltin' development. Gaige: [Collapses onto the keyboard] Okay have a nice day. Bye-bye. 👋🏜️ ✨ THE FINAL VERDICT: TIDALIS ✨ Jinx: This game is a total blast! That arrow-streaming concept is super unique, and the striking neon visuals are like a firework show for my brain! 🚀✨ Gaige: Totally! It’s simple to learn but gets incredibly complex. I love all the quirky little details and imaginative colors—it's a brilliant, distinct experience! 🦾🌀

very good game

It has forced resolution of the 90s which will not maximums and the game is weird