Zoe & the Magic Escape 4+

So close to being really good

But repeated glitches and puzzle issues took me out of it. Things like you needed to close a bunch of plants for one puzzle, and one of the plants kept glitching to not be close-able, and even when they didn’t it was near impossible to hit all of them at once. The music didn’t seem to really match up with the notes for a music puzzle, making that near impossible. There was a globe turning puzzle that would glitch and the globe would get stuck. Some issues are playable through, I gave up at the plants and was really disappointed because there were some good ideas here, but it was just too frustrating to navigate through.

DNF- Here’s Why

This is, overall, a charming and entertaining little game. Good design, cozy graphics, and very much recommended for anyone whose kid player is a fan of, say, Disney’s Sword in the Stone.

But I didn’t finish, because one puzzle requires sound. That’s (almost certainly unconscious) ableism which leaves out hearing impaired folx. If there had been an animation that pointed out the solution, that would be great, but watching the in game animation there’s no hint of linking to the solution.

That spoiled the whole game for me. I don’t know how to fix games for visually impaired people, but making sure your game doesn’t require sound to finish a puzzle is easy to fix for the hearing impaired.

3 stars (with the potential for higher ranking if this is fixed).

Developer Response ,

Hi Devi-Chan.
We love musical puzzles and wanted to include one in the game. We don't consider it ableist as the puzzle can be bypassed if someone is unable to complete it, so it doesn't stop someone from finishing and enjoying the rest of the game.
We are glad you enjoyed all the other games!

It's okay

It's okay, but not great. Not the most user-friendly puzzle game. I'm a professional symphony musician, and the music puzzle didn't match the sound cues, even if in a different octave. I had to use up all my hints to get past that one and now I'm stuck on the venus flytraps. The game has potential, but it's not quite there yet.