Way of Rhea Play NYC Preview - A Promising Whimsical Adventure

Puzzle games can go in either direction when it comes to difficulty. Some are easy to breeze through and others require a great deal of planning and effort but getting that right balance is demanding. Way of Rhea attempts to create a balance between being a challenge but always maintains its simplicity.

Way of Rhea starts on a small set of rules, collect orbs that can be used at lamps that change the color of the protagonist. Allowing the player to open locked doors with the same hue. This system eventually grows as elevators are added, energy doorways that prevent orbs from passing through, and teleporters. All while keeping the same controls and movement from the beginning of the demo.

To ensure the player is in total control an excellent redo option is available that resets the player 1 move each time. This system encourages the player to experiment and encourage mistakes if it gets you to the solution. It makes that moment when everything clicks that more satisfying since you can spend more time figuring out the puzzle rather than wondering if you did something wrong and having to restart everything like other puzzle titles.

The art direction is the highlight of Way of Rhea. An excellent combination of colors, environmental design, and general placement make each challenge seem like a natural part of the environment. This whimsical feel complements the cartoonish characters throughout so everything fits together as a world instead of separate puzzles.

The demo took me across multiple stages but thanks to the constant addition of similar obstacles that newer ones weren't as intimating. The demo was short but provided enough of a mix of hard and easy puzzles that progression was smooth. Even though I'm not an active puzzle gamer I'm looking forward to Way of Rhea.
 

Adam Siddiqui,
Managing Editor, NoobFeed
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