Blitz Arcade makes its way onto the PSN with their newest title, Droplitz. How does it stack up? Well, let’s take a look, shall we?
Graphics: Droplitz has a very simple, fluid interface which gets the job done. Everything from the menus to the gameplay runs ultra smooth, with absolutely no slowdown whatsoever. The backgrounds used during gameplay, which change as you play, are quite beautiful and do an excellent job of creating a calming effect in an otherwise frantic and fast-paced environment.
Gameplay: The goal of the game is quite simple: guide drops of water (droplitz) from the top of the screen into the collectors at the bottom while manipulating the pieces of pipe leading down by turning them clockwise or counter-clockwise. Despite the simple premise, the game is quite challenging, and things can get very crazy very fast as you progress. Each time a successful path is created from the top of the screen to the bottom, and your Droplitz have reached their destination, all pieces of that path explode and new ones drop on in, with really keeps you on your toes, as each Droplit used detracts from your total, which, when depleted means Game Over. Your job is to continue filling the collectors at the bottom of the screen, which replenishes your Droplit count.
Multipliers can be achieved by creating multiple paths on a single run, and these will be the biggest contributor to your overall score, as single paths won’t keep you in the game very long. As stated above, as you progress, the levels change along with the background image, theme, and music. In addition to this, the speed at which the Droplitz flow increases, and the game gets faster and faster, so you’ll quickly find yourself flying across the board trying to get these paths aligned as time runs out. You can also choose to fast forward the game if you already have a path set-up, which can save you precious seconds in the long run.
As high scores are attained, new modes which focus on endurance and power-ups become available, such as the ever challenging ‘Infection” mode, where certain pieces of the board become infected, causing pipes to turn at a much slower pace, with the board wobbling more and more as time progresses. Clearing paths eliminates infected areas and keeps the playing field steady. Overall, the gameplay is simple and provides a hefty challenge.
Sound: The sound design, in my opinion, is absolutely beautiful. Its combination of light techno beats and, at times, acoustic guitar and violin, really delight the ears as you progress through the game, causing a new level to start with a new tune fading in without ever being taken out of the game to switch up. Also, the sound of creating a successful path will have you addicted in no time. The game contains most of the sounds that you’d expect from an arcade-style title and does the job quite nicely.
Overall: Droplitz really caters to the hardcore puzzle fanatics out there and provides an excellent challenge. The gameplay is simple, yet surprisingly enjoyable for those who give it a chance. Although the game’s soundtrack is beautiful, it would have been nice to have some custom soundtrack support thrown in as well. As stated before, Droplitz focuses more on the gamer who enjoys puzzlers, so be sure to bear that in mind. While certainly not pushing the puzzle genre into any revolutionary new territory, Droplitz is a fun puzzler that gets the job done.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
Beautifully smooth visuals Incredibly relaxing soundtrack, though no custom soundtrack support Provides an excellent challenge |
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