My Week Unwrapped: February 27, 2021 – Inked, BLASK 2, Lyxo, Guess the Rule, Total Eggscape and More

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Hi everyone, and welcome back to My Week Unwrapped, where I discuss all the games I’ve been playing over the last seven days. It’s been quite a busy week, though I still spent a lot of time with Titan Quest, as it’s completely sucked me in. Otherwise, this is a very puzzle-centric week, so fans of the genre should be happy. There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s get to it!

Inked

I previewed Somnium Games’ puzzle adventure, Inked, back at the beginning of January and was very impressed with it. Though its release date got pushed off a bit, it came out this week and I played through it several times now, mainly to try and find all the hidden paintings in each chapter. I did enjoy the game, but I wish it was more enjoyable to look for those extras. The way the system was implemented makes it feel like a chore, and some are also difficult to access due to the camera behavior, especially on an iPad. I’m still missing two paintings, but you can see the rest of the locations here and my walkthrough guide here. I’ll make more videos once I find the paintings I’m missing. I also reviewed the game, so you can read my in-depth thoughts here.

BLASK 2

Back in 2019, I reviewed the original BLASK, a unique laser-reflecting puzzler that I really enjoyed. I had some small criticisms about the controls, especially on a smaller iPhone, but overall I had good things to say. I had no idea the developer was working on a sequel, so it was a pleasant surprise when he sent me an email, along with a copy of the game. I only played through about thirty of the eighty levels, but it’s nice to have more BLASK content to work my way through. I also noticed that a proper level select screen was added, instead of having to cycle through them one by one like in the original. iCloud sync is still missing, unfortunately, but otherwise this appears to be a solid sequel. I’ll definitely share more impressions as I get deeper into the game. Meanwhile, you can check out my gameplay video to see if it’s something you might enjoy.

Lyxo

What are the odds that two unique light-reflecting puzzlers would release on the same day? Lyxo is very different from BLASK 2, but once again your goal is to get the light to shine on the receptor. What’s interesting about Lyxo, though, is that you draw the reflectors. You can still move them around, thankfully, but if you need to change the angle, you’ll have to delete that line and draw another. You’re usually doing so in almost complete darkness, with only the beams of light as your guide. There are shapes that block the light, but you can’t see where they are, so you have to angle the light through the gaps. It’s an interesting concept and I look forward to spending more time with it. But I’m probably going to wait for an update that is full screen on my iPad Pro and also doesn’t force my device into 100% brightness. I also noticed that there’s a back button to revisit previous levels, but there’s no button to move forward to the one you’re currently working on. So the only way to get back to it is to solve the puzzles all over again. That seems like a really huge oversight and I hope it gets fixed in an update. Again, you can watch my gameplay video to see the game in action.

Guess the Rule: Logic Puzzles

Guess the Rule is a logic puzzle game that’s probably meant for people smarter than me. You’re given two sequences of shapes that follow the rule and two that don’t. You then need to choose whether each following sequence fits the rule or not based on the information you have so far. The more you get right, the higher your score. Some rules can be simple, like “three shapes of the same color” or “at least one yellow square” but others are a lot trickier. For instance, you can get “two red shapes and a square on the right” or “one of each color and a circle next to a triangle.” I’ve only tried the Normal difficulty level and I’m bad at that, so I’m scared to see how I fare at the Hard mode. It is an interesting game, though, and there seems to be an unlimited number of puzzles to keep you occupied if you like this sort of thing. I do wish there was more to the scoring besides a daily leaderboard — perhaps a cumulative score or average? I’m not sure, but I would like something more to motivate me to keep playing, especially if I already got a perfect score that day. Anyway, once again, check out my gameplay video to get a better idea of how it works.

Total Eggscape!

I like the idea of Total Eggscape! It takes the egg-laying mechanic of Bomb Chicken and uses it for an endless climber. So you play as a bird that lays eggs, which push you upward. They don’t explode, but instead you can move your tower left and right so you can pick up coins and chili peppers and also avoid obstacles. You can usually move slowly, but sometimes you’ll be forced to rush and that’s when you’re most likely to hit spikes or some other deadly object. The problem is, you only have one life, so if you get hurt it’s game over. You can watch an ad to continue, but purchasing the ad removal IAP doesn’t give you free continues. You would still have to watch an ad. That’s usually a dealbreaker for me. Also, it doesn’t appear to be an endless runner, as every time I died it showed a progress bar and I had barely scratched the surface. If I did continue with it, I imagine I’d be replaying the early part of the game many many times before I make any meaningful progress. By all means, check it out since it’s free and ad-supported, but I personally don’t enjoy it.

Titan Quest: Legendary Edition

I’ve been playing Titan Quest quite a bit and put a lot of hours into it this past week. I got to Egypt and have made some decent progress there. I’m still enjoying my Nature build with all my pets, but I’m not sure yet where I want to invest my attribute points. So I’ve accumulated about 30 now. Instead, I’ve been using equipment with strength bonuses and requirement reductions to wear heavier armor and feel more protected. I haven’t died yet, so I think I’m doing pretty well. My main complaints with the game are still the small inventory — even after expanding it twice — and the odd save points. I’ve had to keep playing longer than I wanted to just so I could get to a new checkpoint before logging out. Other than those two things, though, I’ve been having a blast and absolutely love the game. I highly recommend it if you’re itching for some ARPG action.

Psycholonials

A new chapter of Psycholonials released this week and I enjoyed it a lot more than last week’s chapter. It flowed better and had more tension. I was bored part of the way through chapter 2 and wasn’t sure if I’d stick with the game, but chapter 3 reignited my interest. I also started compiling all my videos in one place for easy access. Go don’t have much more to say right now. We’re a third way through the story, so I’ll just have to see if it holds my attention to the end before judging it.

Genshin Impact

I took a much-needed break from Genshin Impact for most of this week because I put so many hours in during the Lantern Rite event. I still played some, mostly to get the Trails of Tianqiu quest out of the way so I can finally ascend to AR 36 without worrying about being locked out of co-op due to the quest. So I’ll probably do that either tomorrow or next week. Meanwhile, I hope you finished up the Lantern Rite quests because that event ends very soon!

Sky: Children of the Light

And last, I completed the Season of Dreams constellation in Sky and got both my ultimate gifts, making up a bird costume. I also made a video for another old meditation spot that returned after a long hiatus. And last, I made a video of the third Village of Dreams quest. The developers also announced the next season, which will be called Season of Assembly, as well as an upcoming event called Days of Bloom. I’ll hopefully have videos of both for you when they’re available in beta.

And that’s everything I’ve been up to this past week! I also watched Tell Me Your Secrets, which was a bit of a slow burn, but it held my attention. I also noticed that the UK version of Utopia is on Amazon Prime, so I’m starting that next. I’m always looking for new series to break up my gaming time, so let me know if you can recommend any! Also, let me know in the comments section which games you’re playing and I’ll see you back here next time with more of My Week Unwrapped!

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