Developer: Ostra Entertainment
Publisher: Bee Legacy Publishing, Afil Games
Platform: Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Tested on: Switch
Storyblocks: The King – Review
As a general rule, we enjoy reviewing games. Don’t get us wrong: it’s still work, but it’s the fun kind of work. Sure, not every title we get in our hands is a high-end AAA title, and a significant chunk of the games we take a look at are mediocre. Occasionally though, we do find unexpected treasures amongst the trash. Titles like Cardpocalypse or Lil Guardsman would never have ended up in our libraries if we didn’t have to review them, but they ended up as personal favorites (and you should absolutely give them a shot). On the opposite end of the spectrum is the occasional absolute stinker. Sometimes it’s a cynical cash grab or a game that was released in an unfinished state. And sometimes, it’s just a terrible and unplayable port of a game that would have been just mediocre otherwise. Case in point: Storyblocks: The King.
Story
As the title indicates, Storyblocks: The King is a narrative-driven affair. Our tale is told using a storybook. It branches depending on how you play the game, as there is often more than one way to complete a puzzle, and each solution leads to a different path for the story to take. As for what the story entails, well, there isn’t a whole lot that we can tell you, because as you’ll find out, Storyblocks: the King is borderline unplayable and we never finished it. The opening text speaks of a young boy, whom we assume is destined to become the king. Let’s be real though: it doesn’t really matter that we explain the plot, since if you’re tenacious enough to actually finish this game, you deserve to find things out for yourself.
Graphics
We’d argue that the visuals are Storyblocks: The King’s only redeeming feature but given how simplistic they are, that’s not saying much. The story is told on book pages, which fits the narrative. Meanwhile, the puzzles are represented by what appear to be islands floating in the sky. Things aren’t overly detailed here, but they don’t need to be either. While graphics performance is adequate, Storyblocks: The King’s visual appeal is dragged down by the awful camera controls.
Sound
“Generic” seems to be too generous of a word to describe Storyblocks: The King’s soundscape. We’re unsure if it is because the music was so mind-numbingly dull or because we were getting frustrated with the gameplay, but we can barely even remember the soundtrack. The game’s sound effects were simple stock sounds and voice acting is absent, as you’d expect in this case.
Gameplay
The core concept of Storyblocks: The King is deceptively simple. Each chapter of the story is presented in the form of a grid-based block puzzle. You’re given a number of blocks and you need to connect the starting block to one of the exit blocks. The caveat is that you need to use all the blocks to create a connecting path. You might be able to reach an end path with four blocks, but if you have five blocks, you won’t be able to complete the level in this way. There are no special blocks or other elements that spice things up here. Simple, right? Then why the low score, you ask? Well, the Switch port of Storyblocks: The King is borderline unplayable. Lining blocks up on the grid is incredibly frustrating and inaccurate, and it doesn’t help that the camera seems to be actively working against you too. The game was originally intended to be played with a mouse and keyboard, and we’re sure that the PC version is a lot more enjoyable, based on the game’s Steam score. We’ve played plenty of terrible games like Help Me Doctor or Neko Secret Room, but none of those were as utterly broken as this one. It doesn’t help that those aforementioned examples were bad games, whereas Storyblocks: The King is just a bad port. You might be tempted by the low price of €4.99 and the game’s initial appeal. Hell, for all we know there might be a tasty discount coming up soon. Unless the game receives a significant patch, however, we’re going to tell you outright not to pick up this one at any price point.
Conclusion
We’re not even going to waste any more time complaining about just how poor the Switch port of Storyblocks: The King is, as we’re sure our point has been made. If you’re going to play this one, stick to the PC version and you just might have a little bit of simple block puzzle-based fun. This port, however, is terrible and broken beyond belief. Your mileage may vary for the PlayStation or Xbox ports of the game but given that the issues don’t seem to be Switch specific, we’re not holding out hope for those.
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