RUSH Reviews

Overall rating: 3.5/5 (recommended with some caveats) *Updated review after figuring out how timing works* [b]Summary:[/b] RUSH is a casual, level-based timing puzzle game. It's reminiscent of similar games on Steam (see, e.g. [i]Micron[/i]) as well as some old flash games. The primary mechanic involves placing arrows in left, up, right, and down directions on 3-dimensional grid to get blocks of each color from a source location to a destination. When you press "go", the blocks start to roll from the source. They also must not collide in their path from the source to the destination, which requires careful timing. The puzzle mechanics lead to diverse and challenging scenarios, especially getting into the Medium and Hard levels. [b]Strengths:[/b] - The puzzles are excellent and later on, they get reasonably difficult. I was pleasantly surprised by how some of the more tricky puzzle mechanics (hitting into walls, switching arrows, etc.) turned out to interact in nontrivial ways. - The gameplay is pleasing to watch (though less so to listen to; see downsides below). [b]Downsides:[/b] - The primary mechanic which makes the game interesting -- the timing of when blocks collide -- is tricky to predict. There is a logic to it, but it is never explained in the tutorial or in the easy levels; I eventually figured it out through manual trial and error, by repeatedly pausing the game with "Esc" to understand how fast the blocks travel. For example, blocks move half a square when falling, and pause for specified amounts of time when hitting walls or turning (in some cases, though not normally when running into arrows). Since understanding block movement is crucial to solving some of the later levels, I will include a guide to the movement rules below. - It would be nice to have some additional control options to help visualize, speed up, and slow down block movement (this would also help with the above). - Some of the "Easy" puzzles could be seen as routine; basically they are like "connect the dots" challenges to get from the source to the destination, especially when given only the arrows and not some of the other mechanics. - The ambiance (robotic voice overlay and rhythmic sounds) are a little tiresome. [b]Guide to Block Movement:[/b] Based on my own observations: - Blocks move around and are generated at discrete timesteps. There is typically a difference of 4, 5, 6, or 8 timesteps between blocks from the same generator, and 0, 1, or 2 timesteps between blocks of different generators. - Moving one square horizontally takes 1 timestep. - Falling one square takes about [i]half[/i] a timestep. - Blocks always collide if they would end up on the same square at the same time. They will not collide if at distance at least 2 apart. They usually collide if at distance 1 apart (i.e., one block exits while one block enters the same square), the exception to this being if the two blocks are moving in exactly the same direction. - Hitting an direction arrow changes direction without costing any timesteps. - Hitting a sliding arrow changes direction without costing any timesteps; however, coming [i]off[/i] the sliding arrow costs 1 timestep to stop. - Hitting a wall changes direction and costs an additional 2 timesteps. (Even though right turns are favored, the delay is the same regardless of the degree of the turn, e.g. 90 degree turn vs 270.) - Hitting a stop sign also costs 2 timesteps. - Going through a warp point costs 2 timesteps.