Review: Kiko: The Last Totem - Confounding Your Puzzler

Overview

In Kiko: The Last Totem your goal is to direct Kiko and his friends to their landing zone in this slider puzzle game. You need to move the various colored cat like creatures from their starting point to the correct landing zone, and you need to use the cats together. There is an order to follow to have one cat act as a stopping point for another so it can come to a stop on it's landing zone.

Features

The game features 150 levels in total with 50 levels for each difficulty. There is a level editor to create and share your own levels. Game Center is also included for online high scores and achievements.

The Good

Each and every level offers a true puzzle perfectly encoding the word. You'll need to think before acting, and try to picture the sliding moves so each cat can make it home. It's a very methodical and challenging game that doesn't have time limits, and instead is scored based on how many moves you make. There are multiple ways to solve a given level, but to get four stars on a level you'll need to use your cats together. Most levels have four cats, and you need to position certain ones to allow for others to make it to their landing zone. Without another cat to stop their progress some cats will slide right on past their landing zone. The game definitely ranks high on the difficult puzzle list, but completing the levels feels like a real accomplishment. There is a load of content with the 150 included levels which will keep you busy for a long time to come with each level taking at least a few minutes. The included level editor offers up some more replayability whether you're making your own or playing friends' levels. The level editor is extremely simple to use which isn't often the case. The game is extremely well polished with retina quality graphics for each level element. The cats sparkle as they move across the board. There is a great soundtrack to listen to that fits the puzzle style and also the island tribe theme.

The Bad

Occasionally the game misinterprets a swipe so your cat goes in the wrong direction, but if you're more deliberate in your swipes this occurs less. You have to beat a level to advance on to the next one so if you do get stuck, you're not moving on. At least the first level of each difficulty is unlocked so you can move between easy, medium, and hard levels. The game can be quite frustrating at times with some levels looking impossible as you're swiping, and not getting close to the solution. The game isn't made for quick solutions, and patience is the best way to figure out these complex puzzles. Just be warned that these puzzles are difficult, so know the kind of puzzles you like to play.

The Verdict

Kiko: The Last Totem offers a very challenging yet engaging puzzle mechanic with each level taking considerable effort to solve. There is a load of content with all of the included levels plus a level editor. The game is really nicely designed in most regards, though there are control problems from time to time, and the locked levels can leave you stuck. For only $0.99 Kiko: The Last Totem is a true puzzle game that is worth it. Though be warned the game comes with a high degree of difficulty that some like, and others don't.

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