I’ve enjoyed puzzle games since I first played “7th Guest” years ago on my ancient PC.  Now, Colibri Games brings me a new challenge, “The Tiny Bang Story HD” for the iPad. A tiny planet was hit by a meteor, and now exists only as tiny puzzle pieces scattered through existence. Can you help put the pieces back together?

Overview

From the Tiny Bang Story App Store page:

Life on Tiny Planet was calm and carefree until a great disaster occurred – Tiny Planet was hit by a meteor! The world fell apart and now its future depends only on you! Use your imagination and creativity: in order to restore Tiny Planet and help its inhabitants you will have to fix a variety of machines and mechanisms as well as solve puzzles in each of the five chapters of this game. Navigation is simple and intuitive. It doesn’t distract you from the witty brain teasers, and you will be able to fully immerse yourself in the unique atmosphere of the game.

• There is no text in this game. It is fun for all ages and suitable for the whole family!
• Five vastly different chapters and over 30 exciting brain teasers (minigames)
• A bright, gorgeous world drawn entirely by hand
• Absorbing game play and simple navigation
• 10 enchanting musical themes

Tiny Bang is a point and click story based puzzle game which takes place in a beautiful hand-drawn style world. There is no text, everything is icon based, even the hints. As the player, you are left to your own devices to explore and figure out what is required of you to solve the puzzles and collect the needed objects and puzzle pieces to complete the current level. Bit by bit, the player learns how their actions affect the world around them.

The player definitely needs to pay attention to the environment they are plopped down in. To solve the puzzles, and gather objects, the player must use their observational and deductive powers to their maximum. Every screen has tiny objects that you can easily overlook. You will feel some frustration, but at the same time, the puzzles aren’t so frustrating that you’ll quit the game in a fit of irritation. (And, psst… There are hints and walk-through available on the web if you need help…) One good thing to remember is that the results of solving one puzzle can come in handy with the solution for a later puzzle.

The graphics in this game have an children’s book feel, with a little H.G. Wells thrown in. The designs and backgrounds in the game are beautiful and entertaining in themselves. The interface of the game is clean and clutter free.

Verdict

This game is an excellent value for anyone who is a logic puzzle lover. Kids from 6 to 60 will enjoy solving the puzzles and seeing what happens next. The graphics are beautiful, and the music is wonderful. You can see the thought and care that was put into the development of this game. If you like puzzle games, buy this game, it’s that simple.

Price: $2.99 (App Store Link)

Rating: 4/5

Pros:

• Easy to use, clean interface.
• The puzzles are challenging, but not hair-pulling frustrating.
• The graphics are beautiful and add to the atmosphere.

Cons:

• Sometimes the detailed graphics on the iPad screen were a draw back, some of the objects in puzzles were small, and hard to see. Could just be my old eyes.