Is This Seat Taken? Preview

I’m a fan of puzzle games — I just happen to be a bit useless at them. However, a wholesome puzzle game with no move or time limits, like Is This Seat Taken? I just had to give it a spin.

As you follow a shape’s journey, it’s your task to place people (by which I mean shapes) where they want to go. Everyone has at least one criterion, whether they want to sit or dance, perhaps, and you have to find the right spot for them. Many of the shapes have two or three criteria, such as not wanting to be near splashing water, or they really need to be able to chat with someone, so you have to pair them up (or avoid it) just so.

Most puzzles have more than one solution, so if you find yourself struggling, then just move everyone off to the sides and start again (there’s no “retry” unless you want to start the whole thing over). Each level will reuse the stage multiple times, sometimes with a whole host of new shapes, other times some will remain. There are even some levels which change for each stage, depending on where you put people, so you have to think ahead!

Of course, sometimes you just can’t work out how to please everyone (at least I couldn’t…), but that’s alright! You get one point for every person placed correctly, but even if you completely mess it up, you can still complete each stage. However, you won’t unlock special levels if you lack the points, so it’s not like there is no impetus for getting every single one.

The soundtrack for Is This Seat Taken? is full of simple melodies that suit the wholesome nature of the game perfectly. They do repeat, but they never felt repetitive throughout my playthrough.

The graphics are simple with bold cartoon lines, and you can easily tell at a glance whether someone might cause problems for your other shapes, without needing to read their information. The action takes place from almost directly above, so I never found myself mis-clicking as I dragged and dropped people around the place.

I had fun with Is This Seat Taken?, and I’m genuinely looking forward to its full release in a couple of months on PC.