ReThink | Evolved Reviews

Fun and well-paced. The puzzles are just the right level of challenge, they weren't so easy to be boring, but I also never got stuck for too long. I completed it in 3 hours, but approximately half of the game is split between 2 paths and I only played the blue path so I suspect the total amount of content is around 5 hours if you're a completionist. This is my only complaint about the game - I don't want to replay the easy parts just to get the last few bits of content, so I'm not going to see the red path puzzles. Definite buy when on sale, but probably don't buy at full price - this wasn't as magical of an experience as some of the more expensive story-heavy puzzle games (Portal, Lightmatter, Outer Wilds), but when it's at a few bucks, this is absolutely worth your time & money.

The followup to the first ReThink. In this game, and all Evolved sequels, you can actually carry the cubes around yourself, which makes some puzzles easier but also allows for much more difficult puzzles. If you liked the first game, this is another definite recommendation for a few hours of puzzling.

Really fun puzzle game using mixed mechanics with lasers, cubes, tiles and zero gravity areas. The puzzles offer a good challenge, but nothing too hard to figure out. I am surprised this puzzle series is not more popular. I definitely recommend!

This game is a technical desaster! It runs like crap, and doesn't look even good. The low frame rate hurts the gameplay A LOT. The physics don't work correctly with a low framerate, and many puzzles rely on the physics. Avoid!

If you enjoyed The Talos Principle and Portal, but would be just as happy without the story elements, ReThink: Evolved is for you. Light on story, but heavy on well-designed puzzles with a cool futuristic aesthetic, Evolved is a clear improvement over the first ReThink game, which felt repetitive by about the 25th level. The Evolved version adds a bunch of interesting new mechanics that make each puzzle a memorable experience. And whereas the first game rewards a trial-and-error style of gameplay that I find frustrating, Evolved puzzles have a clear logic to them that leads to a greater sense of accomplishment when the exit door lights up. This is a relaxing, fun way to spend a rainy afternoon. Highly recommended.

Excellent puzzles, nice graphics and atmosphere, clear presentation, flawless performance and controls, and it doesn't waste your time with filler or repetition*. The developer also seems cool, from their interactions and helping people. (*This game splits into two parallel paths at times, and you'll do the levels on one path and miss the ones on the other, but it also lets you load back to any level you've already done, so you can just do the branches you missed after finishing, without repeating all the common levels. Nice!) Compared to the original ReThink (Non-Evolved), this has mechanics that are less "rigid", in that you can rotate and place elements freely and direct lasers at any angle instead of in fixed places and at 90 degrees. Not better or worse as a result, just different. But different is good as it' keeps things fresh. This game adds several new mechanics as well. The puzzles never had me looking for a guide or wondering "HTF was I supposed to work that out?", but they also sometimes had a trick that needed to be figured out out. I was never stuck, but never board either, and frequently satisfied after working things out. I really enjoyed it, and for the price you can't go wrong, unless you hate puzzle games or something. It's also a fine introduction to the series, and you can play it before or after the original ReThink (which is similar but a completely separate game / parallel series with its own levels and slightly different mechanics).

Once I got a laptop that could play this game without giving me a low-res headache, it was awesome. It may lack the strong story that something like Portal or Talos Principle has, but the puzzles are still very good. Just a good solid puzzle game. With colours!

This is the first ReThink/ReThink | Evolved game I played, and it got me hooked! I really enjoy the challenge of these puzzles, they were challenging but still very fun. My only complaint is that one of the hidden achievements requires you to replay the entire game if you don't pay attention/miss it. So maybe check out the achievement guide ahead of time if you want to make sure you only play through once!

ReThink Evolved is a first person puzzle game similar to Portal and The Talos Principle. The player must progress through a series of test chambers, where the primary puzzle mechanic involves using cubes to redirect coloured laser beams to activate switches of the same colour. The basic concept is easy to understand, but later levels add complexity by including other objects and hazards. - Use “V” or “W” cubes to send a single beam in multiple directions, to simultaneously activate two or three switches. - Combine red, blue and green lasers to activate purple, yellow, turquoise and white switches. - Use special cubes to split purple, yellow, turquoise and white lasers back into red, blue and green. - Weigh down pressure plates to deactivate cube destroying barriers. - Activate light bridges, float through pockets of low gravity, and use bounce pads to cross gaps and reach higher platforms. - Use remote control cubes to toggle switches on and off, for example to lower a lift, then raise it again after you’ve stepped on. This is the second ReThink game, and the most obvious difference compared to the first game is that cubes are no longer restricted to specific floor tiles. You have freedom to position cubes almost anywhere, which means that some puzzles could have multiple valid solutions. In fact there were a couple of puzzles where my solution didn’t even use all the available cubes. My biggest complaint is that the low gravity areas were kind of tedious. There were times when I knew what I wanted to do, but I had difficulty positioning a cube in just the right place to activate multiple switches – especially as these sections require you to consider the cube’s height off the ground as well as angle the laser beams up or down. The game also ends quite anticlimactically. After you solve the last puzzle it just kind of fades to black and dumps you back at the main menu. There’s no story, so there’s nothing left unresolved, but even so I would have expected ... something. You don’t even get an achievement. Technical performance is fine. I didn’t suffer any bugs or crashes, no framerate problems, controls are fully rebindable and work well with mouse and keyboard. It only took me around 4.5 hours to solve all the puzzles, but the purchase price is cheap, so I’d recommend picking this up at full price if you like puzzle games.

Short version: I liked it. Despite what some people think, it isn't a clone of anything. Expect 3 to 6h to complete. Direct improvement of first ReThink game. Long version: For starters, I'll say I'm used to First Person Puzzle games, I like this genre. I completed Portal, Talos Principle, Magnetic Cage Closed, QUBE, Antichamber, and others, including ReThink (the previous game). Now, the review: ReThink | Evolved is, basically, a direct improvement of ReThink, as the name suggested it. Core mechanic: you place various cubes freely (instead of on a grid-like structure for the previous game) to redirect colored lasers from their source to colored end points. Several types of cubes are there, from the basic "straight that way" to "split the colors", "source cubes" and a few others. In later tests, "shieldbridges" (toggleable bridges) will add some difficulty. Later again, you'll have to think the puzzles in 3D. If you didn't like the floor-tiles puzzles from the first game, there are still a few in this one, but waaaaay less. About the plot, "you have to do puzzles for some reason". Don't expect more than that. Not a problem, this game doesn't pretend to do more. Now, pros and cons (at the time I'm writing this): Pros: - Solid core mechanic with various elements, keeps it interesting to the end. - Annoying mechanics from the previous game are either removed or improved. - quite long game, and sometimes you have to choose your path (two different sets of puzzles, happens 3 times). Expect 3 to 6 hours to complete it the first time, based on your experience with FPP games. - Smooth difficulty curve. - A working fidget spinner. Because reasons. - Beautiful graphics. - Beautiful non intrusive ambient music and sounds. - Several options, especially for an indie game. Amongst others: FOV slider, detailed performance settings, rebindable keys. - Currently available in 4 languages, only through texts (English, German, French and Swedish). - Active developper, will fix small bugs within hours at most. Cons: - The fidget spinner falls on the ground when you take a cube, so you might lose it if you're not careful. - No real plot, but that's not a real problem. Now, is this game a clone of [other game]? (I remind you I know those games very well.) - Compared to Portal: - White walls: as any overly clean building, like labs, hospitals, some companies... Basic design. - Lasers and cubes: Portal only has one type of cube with one color. There are more here, it's a direct improvement of Portal. - Jumping pads: basic gameplay elements since the dawn of FPS games. - Emancipation grids: basic gameplay element in many FPP games. - Light bridges: agreed, for the concept. But it was either that or bring back the annoying cubes from the first game. Would be a shame. - No-gravity areas: Portal funnels and the areas in this game are completely different. - Portals: there isn't any here. - Compared to Talos Principle: - Blue and red lasers: in Talos, lasers collide. They. Collide. If you still think this game is a clone, I feel sorry for you. Random rant: - Your opinion is irrelevant, the dev is in your friend list! Because I asked for rebindable keys in the first ReThink game, testing was easier with a direct conversation. Why would I delete friendly and helpful people from my friend list? My opinion of this game isn't biased. I bought the game, played it blindly, and genuinely liked it. Now, it's up to you. Want to buy it? Go ahead! Don't want to? Then don't. Have fun anyway. :D