ZHED – Review
Follow Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Ground Control Studios
Publisher: Ground Control Studios
Platform: Android, iOS, PC, Switch
Tested on: Switch

ZHED – Review

Site Score
7.8
Good: Simple design, Music
Bad: Hint system
User Score
9.0
(2 votes)
Click to vote
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Rating: 9.0/10 (2 votes cast)

It’s not uncommon for free mobile games to get ported to the Switch. We have seen this trend for quite some time now, but more than often these games fall a bit short, as they now cost money to be played on Nintendo’s hybrid console. The latest example of this is ZHED, which is a very amusing puzzle game that was originally released on mobile platforms. We had the chance to try out the Switch port and see how well the game performed on this new platform.

Story

The game is purely a puzzle game in which you have to connect numeric lines, meaning there is no story value to be found at all. The game would not require a story to be any better, as it’s all about the mechanics and the overall gameplay.

Graphics

ZHED utilizes a very minimalistic style in which you’ll just see a grid with numbers. As you progress through the game, the backdrop may alter a bit in terms of coloration, but other than that, everything is presented in a very clear and simplistic fashion. The game is best played without too many whistles and bells, as they would simply distract you and get on your nerves when you’re trying to crack a hard puzzle.

Sound

The sound design in ZHED is actually spot on. The backdrop might be somewhat alluring and very serious in nature, it doesn’t annoy the player when he’s thinking about one of the many possible moves. It’s certainly a big deal when you can create a puzzle game, with a constant background tune, without it becoming stale and/or annoying.

Gameplay

ZHED is a puzzle game in which random numbers appear on a grid. These numbers can expand to the left, right, upwards or downwards position for the number that’s written on them. This means that a tile with a 4 on, can fill four tiles in one of the four directions. If this line would cross the path of another line, then that direction would be expanded with one more tile, etc. It’s up to you to cross enough paths, allowing one of the numbers to reach the goal. More than often it’s a short numeric value, that has to traverse a lot of tiles.

The game gives you a hint for each cleared level. When stuck, you can call upon a hint, but it will start off by showing the first move of that level. If you want to use another hint, it will show the second move, and so on. Keep in mind that when you run out of hints, you will simply have to play without any hints. While we normally don’t advise this, if you’re really stuck on a level, there are many online sources to help you out.

You’ll be able to spend some time on this game, as it has 100 levels for you to clear. The first batch is fairly straightforward and easy, but after a while, some puzzles become a lot harder to crack. As mentioned above, there are hints to help you pass, but even then a small hint might not be enough for you to plow through. The fun part is that the game never feels undoable or unfair, which is a great foundation for a puzzle game to rely on.

ZHED can be played with both the touch screen controls, as well as the sticks. The first is certainly preferred and feels very intuitive, while the latter just feels a bit slower, but still very decent.

Conclusion

ZHED is a very fun puzzle game and we can really recommend trying this out, even for casual puzzle fans. We have to be honest however, that we don’t really see the need of paying money for a game that is already available for free. Nonetheless, if you want to play it on the big screen or just want to support the developer, we don’t see any reason not to. The game is great, even for small gaming sessions.

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 9.0/10 (2 votes cast)
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ZHED - Review, 9.0 out of 10 based on 2 ratings
Ibuki


Aspiring ninja.

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