Zwirn Review

By , on January 21, 2010

Zwirn
  • Publisher: luridmorn
  • Genre: Puzzle
  • Released: 18 Dec, 2009
  • Size: 18.1 MB
  • Price: $0.99
Download on the AppStore
2 out of 5

PROS

  • Visually beautiful, the graphics are superb.
  • The physics of the string itself are impressive.

CONS

  • No menu, pause, music, or instructions.
  • Replay value is non existant.
  • Controls are occasionally frustrating.

VERDICT

Zwirn is a strange offering that could have worked quite well if some more effort had gone into it. Even hardcore puzzle fans will be dissapointed.


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Zwirn is an interesting game to say the least. Though first impressions are somewhat similar to Zen Bound, they are unfortunately only skin deep. Zwirn (German for twine) is a quirky puzzle game where players manipulate a piece of string from its starting point, and thread it around the level so it touches all black dots simultaneously by the time you reach the end.

The first four levels are supposed to act as a tutorial, unfortunately they are not of much help. Rather than give you written instructions, you are left to decipher some small pictures.

The player drags the end of the string to guide it, and with the help of movable push pins, create points to wrap the string around and make the pattern desired. Simply tap the pin to pick it up, and tap again to place it. The controls work well and are fairly accurate, though at times do not respond how you had hoped.

Visually the game is rock solid, the great artwork on the backgrounds are vibrant and the twine itself looks and behaves like the real thing. The game is sorely lacking in sound though, having no music and very sparse sound effects.

Zwirn feels like something that could have been much more than it is. There are 25 level to play through, but once finished the replay value is non existant. Lacking things like music, intructions, and even a pause button leave the game feeling hollow and unfinished. Hopefully it can be improved with updates, but until then this is one to steer clear of.

Screenshots

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