Published by EastAsiaSoft for $5, Hegzis is a low-stress hex-based puzzle game about placing hexagons on a grid. If a row of hexagons stretch from one end to the other, the formed line disappears so more pieces can be placed. The goal might be to place X amount of pieces, create a certain amount of lines, or reach a specific score. Either way, the gameplay doesn’t change, so the overall fun factor is limiting.

If you box yourself in, there are limited-use power-ups to potentially free up space, but these saving graces have their limits. After playing for a while, I rarely used these extra items once I started to learn how the game wants you to place each string of hexagons to form lines, almost like top-down Tetris.

The presentation is simple but gets the job done for a puzzle game. Strangely, the Scottish music doesn’t really fit the gameplay but is pleasant on its own. The announcer, who exclaims simple statements when multi-lines are cleared, is also laughable for all the wrong reasons. The translation in the optional tutorial isn’t exactly well written or clear either. At the same time, it is a five-dollar game.

My biggest issue comes from rotating pieces. For some reason, the “Y” button rotates pieces clockwise but with an awkward delay. Why aren’t the RB/LB buttons used? And why does it take so long for the rotating animation to finish? Confusingly, there is a piece just floating on the side of the screen. For a while, I thought this was an indication of which piece would be available next, but no. There is no option to see what piece is coming next and there is just a loose piece standing by itself for no reason on the side of the HUD.

Even though there really isn’t much to Hegzis, it has limited replay value, and is plainly boring, this is one of those games where I don’t mind playing for three minutes each time I fire up my Xbox, clear one level, get a simple sense of satisfaction, then go play something else. Taking a small bite each day brings mindless middle-of-the-road fun, but playing in longer sessions makes the tedium obvious.

SCORE: 5/10

Not As Good As: Chinese Checkers

Also Play: Parcheesi

Kinda, Sorta On Par With: one of those free puzzle games on your phone

By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com

X/Twitter: @ZackGaz

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