The Magic of Three Reviews

A very satisfying experience. Do not miss this, if you enjoy pure puzzle games. This is absolutely not a typical "match three" game with a randomised set of tiles. This game has a sokoban-like element to it: movement is tile-based, and objects can be pushed but not pulled. It is possible to work oneself into a corner - as the Golem cannot jump - but the game features a rewind system which allows going as far back as the beginning of the current level, should you so desire. Additionally, throughout the game the player character discovers abilities which allow for manipulation of in-game objects. These are: the ability to break a breakable object, the ability to spawn an object, the ability to teleport the player character, and the ability to teleport an object or change its colour. Getting the par scores requires using these abilities to their full potential. The game features achievements for simply getting through a level and for finishing it reaching the par score displayed in the top right corner. It is also possible to go above the par scores on quite a few levels for a little bit of extra fun. The few minor problems I encountered were an achievement for all medals on the penultimate level not unlocking until the third attempt, and stones occasionally not registering the colour change when I tried some dexterity - namely, using abilities in quick succession in an attempt to maximise the score. [Unfortunately, in Linux through Proton the game only plays sounds and displays some UI elements, with the rest of the screen being black, though I have only tried it on a pretty ancient machine with an Intel iGPU.]

This was actually a really enjoyable game with several really nifty designs. Now, I have been quite wary of puzzle platformers because too many put too much weight on the platformer part, requiring very precise movements and timing. And in many cases, my progress is halted by those (which I am horrible at) instead of figuring out the puzzles (which I am often good enough at). This game is pure puzzle: the action takes place on 2D platforms but no need to worry about timing or managing to execute precise jumps and tumbles to get things done. The game is something of a combination of sokoban and match-3 on a platformer: move colored blocks (and some other elements) to get three in a line, making them disappear, so you can collect collectables and move further on the level. Familiar mechanisms, but the combination and how it is done here is great. And even though the 27 levels unlock one by one, at later stages I could basically force through the level ignoring the collectables and most of the puzzles to get to the next one, and return to solve the level properly later. It's not a very long game but getting all the collectables is enough of a challenge (at 5 hours I've seen all the levels, and 100%'d several of them but there's still several levels left which need full solving). The puzzles are not very hard (compared to some other games I've played) but do require some thinking so one does not just breeze through, and at least some levels are actually quite liberal on how they allow you to solve them, once you start to have a variety of power options, which is of course also a nice touch. Certainly recommended for all the puzzle fans.

The Magic of Three is a hidden gem of a puzzle game. It's a pity that it seems to have seen zero uptake. Look past its missteps - its inexplicably uncapitalized title, uninspired store page description, and unvaried tileset - and you'll find an extremely clever, genuinely unique, and optionally very challenging puzzle game. At its core, this is a puzzle platformer (without jumping) where you use limited abilities to make matches of the same color. What makes this simple concept ingenious are the small moveset which interacts in delightfully varied ways, the great level design, and the resource management. The Abilities By yourself, all you can do is walk left and right and push lone blocks horizontally; and some tiles also allow movement through the air, vertically and over pits. When you pick up a colored gem, you can consume it and use its ability any time within a generous distance from yourself. The red ability destroys one tile; the blue ability teleport you to a tile; and the green ability creates something new in a tile, namely a new gem of any color, or a crate or solid stone. The final levels also introduce another type of consumable, but otherwise that's pretty much it. But this limited moveset nonetheless allows for lots of versatility: each ability has some associated neat tricks, like spawning gems above yourself. Perhaps my favorite design choice is that the green gem creates colored gems rather than colored rocks; the latter behavior would've been far less interesting. Level Design and Resource Management Instead of making one puzzle per level, the game bundles multiple puzzle sections together per level. Sometimes they're in linear order, and sometimes you can choose the order in which to tackle them. The game suggestively places ability gems next to the sections where you should probably use them, but you don't have to follow those suggestions. This makes for a fun challenge of resource management: use your limited resources as efficiently as possible to succeed at the optional challenges, namely collecting all magic orbs in the level and getting a required amount of matches. (Incidentally, games with similar level design and resource management philosophies include "Tetrobot and Co." and DROD RPG: Tendry's Tale.) Oh, and did I mention that colored gems can also be used for matches? This makes for some tough decisions regarding whether to pick up gems or not. What a joy of a design <3. The game features 27 big puzzle levels. Some of the later levels (17+) are so big that beating them is perfectly doable, but doing so perfectly (with all orbs and a sufficient score) is sometimes *really* hard. I found that challenge delightful, but if that eventually becomes daunting instead, there's an "endless abilities" option in the menu. Shortcomings While I ultimately adored this game, it does have a few shortcomings: the music is insufficiently varied. There's no ending screen or credits scene if you just beat the levels, and only a very minor popup once you 100% the game. The game eventually introduces colored enemies which move in real time; plus falling gems also fall in real time, rather than instantanteously. These both constitute a small timing mechanic, but fortunately there's a robust rewind feature which makes it quite easy to nail any timing. Conclusion The Magic of Three is a genuinely clever and unique puzzle game. I highly recommend it for puzzle afficionados.