Number puzzles are a great way to give your brain a good workout and can be fun and relaxing at the same time. Zhed from Ground Control Studios is a new type of number puzzle game built with a simple mechanic that increases in difficulty the further your progress. The puzzles have no time constraints, stars or even tricks to constrict you, it just simply allows you to get in some much needed time to disconnect from your real-life struggles and solve some puzzles. Keep reading to hear how we felt about it.
A Number Puzzle that Doesn’t Make You Do Elaborate Math!
My favorite thing about Zhed is that is is a number puzzle that doesn’t have you doing elaborate math problems in order to solve it. It is so simple that sometimes it is easy to overthink it. To win the puzzle the player needs to connect one of the numbers with the unnumbered square. This is done by clicking one of the number blocks, choosing a direction, and laying a path. The goal is to overlap paths to increase the distance in which a block will reach.
As the levels increase so does the difficulty but not at a curve that makes any sense. A few puzzles would be a similar difficulty level and then out of nowhere one would be extremely difficult only to return to the previous difficulty. Most puzzle games have an even curve of difficulty that progresses as you do. Zhed just appears to be all over the place. On the Nintendo Switch and PC versions, you receive one hint for each puzzle that is completed and the mobile device versions allow you to purchase hints. The hardest puzzle I found in my playthrough was level 47 and I actually took a large break from playing in between out of stress.
Simplistic Art Style
Like the puzzle mechanic in Zhed so are the graphics and music. The screen features a lot of dead space but centers the puzzle itself. It is nice that they don’t try to squeeze in additional artwork that will take away from the simplicity of the game. The music however could use a bit of work. It replays the same track over and over and after a while I found that I was turning the music off completely and listening to other music or watch something while playing. A choice in music track or just a new track to help break things up would be much better.
Is It Worth The Cost?
Zhed on PC and the Nintendo Switch will cost you roughly $3 while the mobile versions are free and allow you to buy hints through the mobile store. The game itself only currently has 5 level packs that total 100 playable levels. Ground Control Studios has shared that they do plan on adding in platform exclusive puzzles and modes in future updates but no time frame on when that could happen. If the game had launched with modes exclusive to the platforms then I would say it was worth spending the money on, however, right now I would go with the free version on your phone.
Overall Opinions
Zhed relies heavily on players enjoying the style of their puzzle with nothing else to offer at this time. While it is interesting, I don’t think it is worth the cost of $3 to play it on a console yet. If they do decide to add in additional modes that are exclusive to the Nintendo Switch and PC then I would suggest taking a look at it. For now though, I suggest if you are interested in picking up this game to test out the new puzzle style, get it for free on your mobile device.
Zhed is available to play now on the PC through Steam, the Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices.
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Who I Am: A nerd by the strictest definition. I enjoy diving straight into my favorite fandoms without a care in the world. I live on video/board games, fantasy movies and TV, and all things geeky.
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