Twistingo: Hummingbird Haven Collector's Edition Reviews

Fun and relaxing.

Man... I don't know about this one. As far as I can tell, this game is awash with AI generated content, from scene backgrounds, character voices, normal assets, and even collectibles. Valve's AI generated content policy went effective for developers about a month [i]after[/i] this game was released, so it can skirt by without adding any disclaimers or other notices on the page. I think this is a perfectly serviceable casual game, but I can't help but feel icky when playing it. How do I know where the AI art stops and the bespoke content begins? If my feel-good game is powered by content that is arguably plagiarized, blended up, and slopped back to me, can I really feel good about it? It all feels so... disingenuous to be selling a cute game about environmental rehabilitation while also using exploitative content. It looks like MixoGames has been using this strategy for the entire Twistingo series, which helps explain how a (seemingly) solo dev is able to pump out 3 games in a year. But at what cost? I'm regrettably going to refund this, and will be steering away from this dev in the future. What a shame.

Cute chill little game... the talking is a little long and drawn out, but tolerable. Puzzles are relaxing, and enjoyable. I enjoyed the changing games. Very pretty game. One play thru took approx. 3 hrs.

The newest Twistingo installment diversifies the game offerings by including the mahjong gameplay first featured in the Lost Amulets series. You are tasked with restoring an island paradise once again, this time to preserve the hummingbirds which have been threatened by storms that also wreaked havoc on the local people. The story is voiced-over for the most part, but less intrusive this time around, as there isn't as much dialog as compared to the previous game. An assortment of colorful HOS in which the list is embedded in the scene and gradually reveals itself as you go along, plus pick-2 clutter HOS scenes are the primary focus of the game, but you get a couple of marble-popping levels per "chapter". One MP type is to click on either the number on the bingo card or the matching numbered ball until all the cards have been cleared, and the other is a pick the stone with the matching icon as a chain of icons rolls along on a track to uncover a bird nest. Changing things up a bit is the inclusion of a mahjong game in each "chapter" with the unique mechanic of clicking on tiles in the "stack" which match one of the tiles in the tray at the bottom. This method of playing is far better than the usual pick 2 tiles mechanic used in most mahjong games and means you never have to worry about having to reshuffle the "stack" numerous times to win, or getting that dreaded 2 tiles stacked atop each other impossible situation at the very end. You earn gold coins from playing, which are used to buy items for improving the island. More gold can be won by going to the "game room", where there are higher-lower solitaire games, a guess the higher-lower card slot machine type game, and a ball-breaking game sort of like a Pachinko machine. I don't know how many different layouts there are of each game in the game room, but I played it for at least a couple of hours before I saw any repeats. There are 3 different difficulty options to play in, but overall it's a pretty chill game even on the hardest difficulty because I didn't struggle much on the majority of the MP levels even on the hardest setting. The hidden objects are cleverly disguised as there can be different versions of something, or you have to think of multiple meanings for a word in the list to figure it out. The mahjong games are not timed, which I really appreciate because the Lost Amulets games could be painfully difficult in timed mode. It's not mentioned anywhere, but clicking on a little colored dot in the map allows you to replay that level on demand. The CE extras: 6 MP levels, 9 "traditional" mahjong levels using the usual pick-2 mechanic, 6 mahjong levels using the match with a tile on the bottom mechanic, and 9 higher-lower solitaire games. You can also view the end game "gallery" sequence, which is a lot like those old-school screensavers but with a peaceful soundtrack, and listen to the game's music via the music player. The opening intro video may be viewed on demand from either the CE extras or by clicking the movie clapper icon in the map screen. Overall, I did like that this game mixes it up more so it's not just one HOS after another, but some of the mahjong layouts seem very sloggy to play because of the layout being difficult to win. I also found it annoying that a "streak" can easily be broken in the mahjong games because you don't get more than about 2 seconds between clicks in order to keep a streak going. And as usual with the entire series, there just *always* has to be at least one "marble rage" game someplace. This time, there's thankfully just one of these frustration-inducing devices in the CE extras, but I'd still like to see a game which I can 100% without having to lower the difficulty for one horrible level. Otherwise, a beautiful game that's great for playing at the end of a long day.