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.projekt ($1.99) by Kyrylo Kuzyk is a minimalistic puzzle game that makes you see things from a different perspective. If you liked titles like Monument Valley (and the sequel) and FEZ: Pocket Edition, then you will enjoy what .projket brings to the App Store.

Most of my gaming time has been with Monster Hunter: World in the past two months, but every now and then I need a break. That's when I look for delightful games on iOS to keep me occupied when I'm not monster hunting. And for relaxation, I find nothing better to calm my nerves than puzzle games. So when I saw .projekt in the recent releases this week, I knew I had to give it a spin for myself. As a fan of the rising trend of perspective shifting optical illusion games, .projekt does not disappoint.

$3.99

Monument Valley

ustwo Games Ltd

$4.99

Monument Valley 2

ustwo Games Ltd

$4.99

FEZ Pocket Edition

Corporation Polytron Inc.

$2.99

Evo Explores – Perspective Puzzle

Kyrylo Kuzyk

$3.99

Shadowmatic

TRIADA Studio LLC

From a visual perspective, .projekt is simple, clean, and oozing with minimalism. Everything is in shades of black, white, and gray, and it's rendered in 3D with grids and cubes. It's sharp, crisp, and appealing to the eyes. Plus, the hues of white, black, and gray seamlessly blend into each other in gorgeous gradients, giving everything a silky smooth appearance. Animations are fluid with no lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The ambient soundtrack is rather atmospheric and soothing, helping players focus and immerse themselves in the puzzles themselves. The developer is familiar with optical illusion games (Evo Explores, their other release, is clearly inspired by Monument Valley), and it's been taken and applied here for a different kind of perspective shift puzzle experience.

Like many puzzle games, .projekt is level-based. At the moment, there are 60 stages total in .projekt, but the developer already has plans for more in the future. While the game takes a more relaxed approach to solving the puzzles, since there are no points or stars to earn, you'll still have to complete each level before moving on to the next. And there are no hints or in-app purchases, so you'll need to solve them on your own. Fortunately, though, the puzzles themselves aren't too hard, and provide more of an unwinding experience than anything else.

The goal in .projekt is to place cubes on the center grid to create and match the silhouettes that appear on the two walls adjacent to the grid. It's pretty simple and straightforward, but the game has a tutorial in the beginning to show you the ropes. To place a cube on the grid, just tap on the space you want it to go. It'll materialize right on the grid, and then you'll see the silhouettes forming on the wall. You can also put cubes on top of cubes, or even on one of the sides. To get a better perspective, drag your finger on the screen to rotate the camera. When you need to get rid of a cube, just long-press on it and it vanishes.

Again, since the game is more about tranquility above all else, the puzzles are not difficult to solve. In fact, if you get stumped, it usually just takes a few attempts and some trial-and-error to figure things out. The thing with no points to worry about or stars to earn mean you can solve these puzzles at your own pace, which is always nice.

Once a puzzle's solved, the cubes you've placed, which are originally in grayscale with black outlines, become solid dark gray. There's also an animation that shows the cubes matching up with the silhouettes and kind of melting together to form one solid piece, which is fun to watch.

Then you're whisked away to the next stage and a new set of silhouettes to match. As you get further along, the puzzles get more interesting, forcing you to think outside the box. You'll need to use all of the basic controls to get the silhouettes to match up, such as what appears to be cubes floating with nothing underneath them for support. How do you make this happen? Hint: long-press to delete.

.projekt is a fantastic meditative puzzle experience that's reminiscent of Shadowmatic and allows you to unwind and think creatively.

The Good

For a meditative puzzle experience, .projekt is fantastic. The visuals are minimal yet appealing, and the music is soothing. The controls in .projekt are intuitive and easy for anyone to pick up. Puzzles are not too difficult, but this means it's just a great game to relax and unwind to. You can play it at your own pace, and there's no in-app purchases.

The Bad

For what it's worth, .projekt is great. But it's not the game you want if you're looking for challenging puzzles that truly make you think. This one is more about seeing things in a different perspective, and thinking creatively to solve them. Also, since the game isn't meant to be difficult, it's easy to get through all of the current stages, so hopefully new content comes sooner rather than later.

The verdict

I play puzzle games to unwind, relax, and just take a breather from life. With .projekt, I get just that. I'm also a fan of minimalism, so the graphics are lovely to me and the music delightful. The intuitive controls make the game easy for anyone to play and enjoy. And when I want to unwind with a puzzle, I don't like to be pressured or rushed, so the whole play at your own pace thing works well for me. This is definitely a game I'll be going through until I clear all of the stages, and then I'll eagerly await more content.

You can find .projekt on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $1.99.

9.0

OVERALL

Sound/Music 10

Game Controls 9

Graphics 9

Gameplay 9

Replayability 8

$2.99

.projekt

Kyrylo Kuzyk

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Good Pizza, Great Pizza (Free) by TAPBLAZE is a pizzeria business simulation game. If you enjoy games like Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp or Diner Dash, but have a fine appreciation for the art of pizza making, then Good Pizza, Great Pizza (GPGP) would be a perfect match.

I've only had a short stint in fast food over a decade ago, but I never made a pizza in my life. However, as I was going through college, I had grown to be grateful for pizza. It was always the easy meal or snack when I was busy crunching a bunch of information into my head the night before an exam, or when I needed energy to stay up all night writing a paper. It was cheap, fast, and almost always available (get that order in before they close). Pizza was also very common around the newsroom when I was working at the school paper. But still, being a pizza connoisseur is not the same as being able to make your own pie, but I was still intrigued by GPGP. I had to give it a try, especially after reading the developer's story on the App Store. I'm definitely not disappointed, and quite surprised at how delightful this game is.

Free

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Free

Diner Dash

Glu Games Inc

Visually, GPGP is fairly impressive, as it carries a cartoonish aesthetic that is reminiscent of series like Adventure Time and the like. The game is rendered in 2D, but you can customize how your dining area looks, so it's like pseudo 3D with that. Each character that you come across with in your pizzeria has a unique appearance, and they actually have some rather funny, humorous stories behind them when they order. The pizza-making process in GPGP is pretty accurate and realistic, since the designer based it off his years of experience working at Costco's pizza kitchen. Animations are smooth and fluid, with no issues of lag or choppy frame rates on my iPhone 8 Plus. The soundtrack is upbeat and quirky, and the customers also have distinctive voices and sounds. The Pizza News Network (PNN) broadcasts that occur after each business day are pretty entertaining as well.

Like all simulation games, you'll be starting your business from scratch, from the ground up while also facing some stiff competition from across the street. Your rival will pop in every day to scope out your pie-making skills and throw some insults and taunts at you, though he pretty much shows you the basics in the beginning.

All-in-all, GPGP is pretty straightforward. Your shop is open from 12-9 pm, and customers come in one-by-one and order. Their dialogue tells you their order, along with a humorous quip every now and then. If you get confused on more complex orders, just tap on the receipt to see what they wanted again. You can do this as much as you need to in order to make sure the pizza is right. Sometimes, though, you'll have to think about what the customer is ordering and translate it, because sometimes they're rather…odd.

The pizza assembly line is easy to follow, even if you've never made a pie in your life. On the left is your pre-made dough — no spinning required. Just tap on one to put it on a pizza board. In the assembly line, you'll start out with tomato sauce and cheese. Just tap on the one you want and then use your finger to get the desired amount onto the pizza dough. As you make cash, you'll be able to purchase more toppings, and then they'll appear in the assembly line. Select the toppings you need and put them on the pizza one-by-one with your finger.

Once you're done with toppings, throw the pie onto the conveyor belt and it goes through the oven. Sometimes you'll need a pizza to go through the oven twice to get it extra crispy or well done, but don't do this unless a customer asks for it. After oven, put the pizza on the cutting board and slice it up! The default should always be six slices, but customers can request no cuts or a specific number, so watch out for that.

At the end of the day, you'll see how much you've received in total tips, along with all of the expenses you needed to take out to run a business. Your net profit appears at the bottom. You can use this opportunity to watch some ads to make at least $10 more in tips, which is optional. This is also the time to make upgrades to your shop, ranging from decorations to toppings to repairs.

There are several categories for decorations, and they change how the backdrop in your pizzeria looks. Adding toppings is essential to satisfy more customer needs, and there are some special days in town that focus on one ingredient or you need to make a lot of half-half pizzas, so keep an eye out on what toppings you need to add. Upgrades affect various things in your pizzeria, such as customer spawn rate, longer hours, and more. Repairs are also important to get, as your equipment wears down over time and needs maintenance to keep it running smoothly.

GPGP holds your hand in the beginning, but it gradually removes the training wheels and becomes a rather challenging game. The topping and slicing guides end up becoming expensive upgrades if you really want to keep them around, but with that cash, you'll want to focus on other things to improve business. The game has a story to help you keep track of your progress, but only time will tell if you end up becoming enough of a master ovenist to beat your rival, Alicante.

The game is free, so you can play to your heart's content. The ads are optional if you want to get more cash tips, or if you want to use the Oil Booster on the oven, which improves the baking speed. The ads are not intrusive since they occur after the in-game day. If you're short on cash (it can be hard as a new pizzeria), you can buy more funds through in-app purchases. But again, it's not necessary.

Good Pizza, Great Pizza is a simulation game that has you appreciate the art of fine pizza making.

GPGP is a cute and charming little simulation game that's challenging and humorous. The art style is simple but still unique, and the character quips, dialogue, and appearances reveal a lot about a person. The assembly line is intuitive and accurate, from my understanding, and not too hard to get used to. Plus, the pizzas have a nice texture to show the cheese and other toppings, so it's full of fine details.

Eventually, as you make more and more pies, it becomes second nature. There are also a lot of upgrades to your shop that you can make, but of course, they must be earned. The optional video ads are a unique approach, and makes sense.

For a game about pizza, I was hoping that I'd be able to spin the dough. I'm just a tad disappointed to see that the dough is already made, ready to be turned into a pizza. Maybe the developer can add this in the future, as a mini-game or something.

And some of the customers are a bit annoying, in my opinion. They ask for very specific pizzas, and you work with what you have and they still get angry. Or their order description is too vague. I understand that this is probably supposed to resemble the designer's real-life pizzeria experience, but it just shows that there's no satisfying some people. I feel like I need a translation for some of the orders, but hey, I'll work with what I have.

The verdict

I don't wish I worked in fast food or pizzerias, but Good Pizza, Great Pizza is a fun simulation of it. The art style is eccentric and full of personality, the game is rather humorous, and at the end of the day, it's pretty challenging. The assembly line controls are intuitive and easy for anyone to pick up, and once you get the hang of things, it just starts to feel natural. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go eat pizza…I've got a sudden craving for it.

Good Pizza, Great Pizza is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for free. There are in-app purchases.

9.1

OVERALL

Replayability 9

Game Controls 9.5

Graphics 9

Sound/Music 9

Gameplay 9.1

FREE

Good Pizza, Great Pizza

TAPBLAZE

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