Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by Chris Miller

Droplitz, the new XBLA puzzle game from Atlus,  is a strange game.  Not strange in the way that most of Atlus’ games are strange (i.e. chock full of Japanese RPG quirkiness), but strange in that after nearly 11 hours of play time, I still can’t decide whether I love it or hate it.  I’ve had some marathon sessions that have damn near sent my controller through my TV, but those have been almost equally matched by nearly zen-like playthoughs in which I felt like I could play forever and rack up ridiculous scores.  Sometimes these two states would immediately follow each other, leading to an interesting roller-coaster of frustration and elation.  Maybe writing this review will help me decide…or maybe not.

The basic concept behind Droplitz is nothing new.  Drops of liquid start at the top of the screen and descend towards the bottom.  You are responsible for making sure they get there by adjusting a series of pipes to create complete paths from top to bottom.  We’ve seen variations on this theme in gaming for years now; from the original Pipe Dream game, to Bioshock’s hacking mini-game.  The genius of Droplitz, however, is in the execution of this simple concept.

Each level begins with a number of dispensers at the top of the board, and collectors at the bottom.  Between them lay rows of discs which contain paths of varying angles.  Depending on which game mode you’re playing, the dispensers release either a consistent or ever increasing stream of drops that travel down the board in the paths on the discs.  The idea is to adjust the discs (each one can individually be adjusted at 90 degree increments) so the drops travel from the top to the bottom in one continuous path.  Once a path is created, a bonus drop (conveniently bright purple and glowing) drops from the dispenser.  If this bonus drop reaches the bottom before any additional paths are created, the discs used will disappear and be replaced by new ones (think clearing a row in Tetris), giving you a score for each one.    Drops that were in these paths when they disappear are returned to your stock, but if a drop hits a dead end, it’s lost for good.  Once this stock of drops runs out, it’s game over.  Sounds simple, right?   Hold on kids…there’s more.

Since the discs contain a variety of angles (Y-shaped paths, X-shaped paths, straight paths, and 45 degree angles), it is possible to connect multiple paths together from top to bottom.  The more paths you have created at once, the higher your multiplier and the more points you receive.  At the lower (and slower) levels, creating a single path at a time will allow you to succeed, but as the levels progress, you’ll be required to think very quickly and chain multiple paths together to get any sort of decent score.  Adding to the chaos is the fact that any time a drop reaches a junction on its way down, it will split into two and one will go in each direction.  Players will need to learn to think one step ahead in order to keep up with the ever changing board and cascade of drops.
While it may start to sound complex, I can assure you that the basic mechanics of Droplitz become second nature within the first hour or two of playing.  I know it’s cliché, but Droplitz is one of those games that is fairly easy to learn, but incredibly difficult to master…and therein lies one of the reasons why I began to lean towards “hate it” rather than “love it”.  While the initial levels are fairly easy, the difficulty required to unlock additional levels and gameplay modes is, frankly, a bit ridiculous.  Simply unlocking the third of 4 gameplay modes took me nearly 7 hours of non-stop play (I was averaging about 8 minutes a level, if that gives you any idea how many times I failed before breaking through).  Even then, I think it was more due to sheer luck than any bit of skill on my part.   There are 4 gameplay modes available, each one requiring that you reach a specific point plateau on the previous one in order to unlock it:  Classic (drops start slow, and get progressively faster as you go), Zendurance (drops are released at a steady pace, and you survive as long as possible), Power Up (similar to classic, but with bomb, freeze, and slow-down power-ups), and Infection (like Power Up, but dials become clogged with junk, which slows them down and can spread to additional dials if not cleared).  Each of these modes has multiple levels to unlock that range from very easy to very challenging.

If I were to review Droplitz at the 6 or 7 hour mark, I would have absolutely trashed it for being far too tough.  It would feel like I was playing a level forever, creating a ton of paths and feeling good about myself, only to look up and see that I was only 30,000 into the 125,000 points needed to unlock the next mode.  The faster levels started becoming far too frantic, and I was having a hard time even keeping track of where my cursor was.  My drop stash seemed to disappear nearly immediately, and I felt like I was constantly on the verge of failing the level.  A strange thing happened, however, right around the 8 hour mark.  The game suddenly "clicked", and in the span of 15 minutes I went from crapping out at a measly 30,000 points, to scoring well north of 400,000.   I began to see patterns that I had missed before, and find connections that I wasn’t making.  Instead of making two paths, I was now creating 10, and my multiplier and scores started to skyrocket.  It simply started to make sense, and the balance started to shift back towards “love it”.

I wonder, however, how many gamers will be patient enough to stick with it long enough for it to click like that.  Judging from the reaction on many message boards I’ve seen, I’m thinking the percentage might be fairly low.  Despite it's underlying mechanics that are quite fun, Droplitz suffers from the cardinal sin of puzzle games: a difficulty curve that is far too steep.  To be honest, had I not been playing it for the purpose of review, I probably would have shelved it in frustration long ago, and never given it a second thought.  So enter it knowing that you’ll need to put in some significant time and effort before you have much success with the game.

In terms of presentation, Droplitz could best be described as minimalist.  It won’t win any graphic awards, but is serviceable for a puzzle game.  Each board has a specific theme and background, and is accompanied by some mellow, trace-like music.  This music is situational, and will increase or decrease in tempo and intensity depending on how well (or how poorly) you are doing.  You’ll learn to listen for some of the audio cues (it takes on a rather ominous tone when the drop stash gets low).  It’s worth noting that the backgrounds used in some of the levels made the cursor and score very difficult to read.  The snow one was an especially guilty culprit in this regard.

For those who care about such things (I’m not one of them), there are 200 Achievement points available, including a truly insane achievement for playing 2 hours straight.  I have no idea how that’s even humanly possible, but I’m sure there will the dedicated few who will get through it.  While there is no direct multiplayer, there is an online leaderboard which will automatically update your scores and compare them to either your friends or a global high scores list.

All in all, Droplitz is an incredibly addicting puzzle game, that will require a time and effort investment that most casual gamers are not typically willing to give.  Those that stick with it will be rewarded with a very enjoyable experience, but be prepared to suffer through controller-smashing levels of frustration along the way.  I’m leaning towards “love it” as my final verdict, but that could change the next time I hit an uber-frustrating roadblock.  So take this as a guarded recommendation – you might love it, or you might end up feeling like you threw away your money.

Gaming Trend Score

77

1. Graphics: 70
2. Audio: 70
3. Controls: 83
4. Gameplay: 81
5. Value/Replay: 76
6. OVERALL:77