KAMI

Developer: State of Play Games | Publisher: State of Play Games | Release Date: 2014 | Genre: Casual / Indie | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

The puzzle genre is quite crowded, so it is always refreshing to encounter something truly unique. KAMI challenges you to turn an entire screen filled with colored paper squares into one uniform color. You have three to five colors to work with and three to eight moves to complete the task. It is a straightforward concept but by no means easy, and it will have you scratching your head in no time.

KAMI was originally an iOS title, but the game works just as well on PC and actually looks pretty good. The artists have really gone to town with the whole paper concept, and the textures make it look like you can reach in and touch the squares. The handcrafted look was achieved using actual paper, and the effect wouldn’t have been quite the same if the squares had been simple colors instead. The developers also created Lume and KAMI definitely fits their trademark paper and cardboard style. Upon release, the game featured black bars down the side of the screen when played at 1080p, but a subsequent update added full HD support without the bars.

For less than five dollars, you get the original five levels with nine sets of puzzles per level and the three premium sets that also contain nine levels each. Seventy-two puzzles might not sound like much, but if you are going for a perfect rating on each level, be prepared to kiss your spare time goodbye. The premium puzzles use patterns on the paper tiles for an even greater challenge, but there is a handy hint system to help if you are stuck. It can only be used a few times a day, and we really recommend that you use it only as a last resort because solving puzzles on your own is immensely satisfying. There are no scores or time limits, so you can sit back (ideally with a cup of tea) and give your brain a good workout. Once you have perfected a puzzle, there’s little to return to, so the replay value is slightly less than a typical puzzle title.

The soundtrack is quite mellow, with a nice tune playing on the title screen. However, during gameplay, everything is silent apart from the rustling of the papers. This effect is quite soothing and helps with concentration. Due to popular demand, the developers added the ability to play the music in-game in an update. Although initially made for touch screens, the game works fine with a mouse.

KAMI is a straightforward port, so it lacks Steam extras such as achievements or trading cards. In fact, the game did not even feature an option to exit it when it was first released, but thankfully, the developers listened to feedback and released an update that added this.

We enjoyed our time with the game, and while it only took us about three hours to complete all the puzzles, we might still go back and try to perfect some of them. The game has the same relaxed atmosphere and tactile feel as games such as Zen Bound, which makes for a nice change of pace. The low price also places it in the impulse buy category, and you don’t have to waste any cash on in-app purchases like with the mobile version.

*Review originally published January 2014.