Simple, yet polished: COLOR is a great puzzle

At the moment I saw this campaign on Reddit, I had to try the game by myself and, of course, vote for it on Stream Greenlight.

COLOR is a puzzle with smooth controls that deals with a very simple and usual concept: color blending.

The objective is to reach the colored circle carrying its designated color: if the circle is red, you have to deliver the color red.
You play as a thin initially white squiggly line. When you lead this line to a certain color, the line is dyed, becoming blue, red or green. If the line is already colored and you walk into another color, it is dyed again, presenting then a secondary color.

Brazilian mix.

This is basically the idea of color blending. We learned it as kids, and even today we know that if we mix red and blue, we get purple. We almost take it for granted. COLOR deals with this simple concept and manages to provide engaging challenges in a puzzle. We usually don’t give too much thought about it, but this commonplace idea of mixing colors can prove to be rather challenging when you have many colors and many obstacles to reach the objective.

Additionally, the game presents other kinds of challenges, such as the gray walls that block your way and will reset you, independently of the color you are carrying. The gray walls are sometimes static, sometimes spin, sometimes are activated by switches, and sometimes simply swallow the color you want if you are not fast enough.

Gray looks harmless.

Personally, the gray is not the best choice to represent the walls that reset you. After all, gray is just another color, and it can be used as further challenge. Maybe blocks and walls with some type of texture or pattern would better convey the impression of disconnection and danger. It may be intentional, though, to hide the deadly trap in a seamlessly harmless color.

The game feels snappy and the controls match are tight fit. The player can choose the joypad or the mouse to play, and the squiggly line moves quickly and responsively to the player’s commands. Also, the line is soft, so it is possible to move it very swiftly.

First, a curve…

Then, a loop…

Finally, a circle!

Also, the preciseness in which the colors are mixed has impressed me. You only dye the exact part of the line that is inserted in the color. If you insert one half of the line in red, and the other half in green, you will get a two-color squiggly line. I foresee that the game will explore this a bit and ask us to deliver multiple colors instead of a single one. I foresee.

I’m fabulous!

I’m even more fabulous!

COLOR is interesting, engaging and even (at least for now) relaxing. The clean visuals and the soft background music allows us to enjoy the challenge and the experience without getting worked up.

I went thought the entire demo, and I was delighted. When it is released, in 2014 according to the developer, I’ll probably play everything in one go.

You’re welcome.

To vote for COLOR on Steam Greenlight, click here.

To download the demo, click here.

To follow the developer on Twitter, click here and here.

To visit the developer’s website, click here.