Settris Review - Simple, Satisfying Puzzler

Settris is not Tetris. Now that’s out of the way, what is it? It’s a puzzle game. It has blocks of various shapes made of squares. The player must use them to fill empty space within a game board. But still, Settris is not Tetris. It’s a take on the formula that’s very familiar to many mobile titles, for better and worse.

In each level, the player is presented with a grid. The various blocks must be used to fill the grid. It’s a simple puzzle – the likes of which existed long before videogames – that’s very quick to learn. As such Settris quickly ramps up the challenge by throwing in various modifiers. Some levels will have blocks already inserted into the grid that cannot be moved. Others will have space reserved for blocks of a specific colour. As the game progresses, this adds depth to the simple challenge.

This may make Settris sound pretty simple. And in truth, it is. But simple doesn’t always equate to ‘easy’. Even withing the first 10 levels, you may find yourself scratching your head. All blocks can be flipped and rotated, but with the grid so small it’s often hard to establish a footing for the longer pieces. You’ll be trying to squeeze them in without blocking out the smaller, umm… blocks. But Settris understands this. It’s a game of trial-and-error.

There’s no time limit. No punishment for incorrect placement, and no hindrance to your progress for failure. Settris simply present the puzzle and allows you to tackle it in your own time. Placed a block wrong? Simply remove it. Remove the whole grid for all the game cares. This is about you, your patience and your ability to decipher logical challenges.

Working your way through the 80 levels included is extremely satisfying. You’ll start to notice patterns, and the occasional challenge that you’ll complete within seconds makes you realise that you’ve fine tuned your thinking, only for the next one to stump you for several minutes.

The presentation of the game is well balanced. A simple ocean themed backdrop with slowly animated flora and fauna don’t distract from the central play area. The musical score lands somewhere between Puzzle Bobble and early New Order. An interesting mix for sure, but again far from taking the sheen off the core gameplay.

So in all we find Settris to be exactly what it was intended to be. It’s a slow burning puzzle game that will find an audience that happily welcomes it. It’s not a game that’s going to rewrite the rulebook or blow you away in any sense, but it will provide several hours of puzzling entertainment. For many, that will be enough. And for Achievement/Trophy hunters, it’s a blessing waiting to be discovered.