Mallow Drops Review

The magnificence of puzzle games lies in their ability to stimulate the mind in new, exciting and surprisingly simple ways. Candy Crush did it with a match-three siren call to our sweet tooth, Angry Birds did it by letting us launch infuriated avians at pigs. In this respect, Gritfish’s Mallow Drops emerges as a serious contender. Beyond the basic colour scheme, an ingenious screen mechanic and flawlessly designed levels await, ready to frustrate, delight and amaze.

Each level is a labyrinth of scattered platforms, laid out in seemingly random yet very deliberate arrangements. Players need to manoeuvre a tiny, marshmallow-shaped kiwi around them, hunting down three eggs which unlock a portal exit to the next level. This basic premise is the perfect masquerade for Mallow Drops’ underlying complexity, which is enhanced by the unique screen rotate feature. To begin, puzzles are simple, lulling players into a comfortable routine. But soon enough, silent enemies and deadly spikes block your path, ramping up the difficulty to mind-bending proportions. Succumbing to gravity, the kiwi latches onto anything tangible with a high suction grip, maintaining its hold even when the screen shifts and alters the playing field. It’s a bit like sudoku; some puzzles feel like Herculean challenges, only to be unravelled seconds later through a few carefully pre-meditated swipes, or perhaps even sheer luck. Solving them is enjoyable, thought-provoking, and rarely do the scales tip in favour of frustration or repetition.

There’s also a timer tracking how fast you can race through levels, but apart from personal satisfaction, there’s little incentive to beat your own record; in contrast to the PC version, there don’t seem to be any leaderboards. Nevertheless, much like the generically named levels (The Forest, Frozen Caves), this issue is miniscule and practically dissolves thanks to rock solid gameplay. A chilled out, techno backing track creates the illusion of an otherworldly setting, but the idea that Mallow Drops is an intellectual pursuit is very real. Its puzzles are constantly engaging, and achieve a fascinating balance between physics and turn-based gameplay. The multiplicity of possible solutions is lenient, yet brilliant, because it keeps players glued to the screen. And perhaps most importantly, Mallow Drops’ surface level simplicity makes it instantly appealing to anyone.

In the wake of games like Angry Birds and Candy Crush, Mallow Drops forms its own niche with fresh, gravity-defying perspectives and smart puzzle design, and the adorable touch of marshmallow kiwis seals the deal. A great casual experience - no matter which way you look at it.