At first glance, Teka Teki appears to be another Tetris-like game. And if you were to just play through the first level, it may seem like it. However, the game introduces a handful of new ideas and game mechanics to the puzzle genre which makes it stand out from the crowd.
Teka Teki is based on the game of the same name made back in 2008 for the fourth YoYo Games competition and received runner up. Don’t be mislead, though. It isn’t an exact replica.
The game takes place on a board where food, animal, predator and random blocks will fall. It is your job to assign their positions. The basic grab-and-drag controls make this an easy task. Once you learn what blocks react with one another (monkeys eat bananas, elephants eat peanuts and so on), you can make large chains and combos to increase your score which can be submitted globally. Both this and the Game Center support makes for some great replay value.
Teka Teki introduces new block types when the player reaches certain levels. These blocks consist of both hazards and helpful abilities; growing food around a seed for example.
Not only are there over 15 levels to keep you entertained, but Teka Teki comes stocked with achievements. Some of which will take dedication and skill to reach. There is nothing too original about the way in which you unlock them, but they do call for a good challenge.
The graphics featured in this game are colorful and fun, yet detailed and very appealing. Much like the original, the background becomes more beautiful and filled with plants and animals as you advance. The pictures depicted on the blocks didn’t cause any confusion for me. In other words, I knew what the blocks were.
The game didn’t grow too dull on me and I would be glad to pick it back up. In my opinion, this is more of a game you’d play when you’re either waiting or bored; not something you’d play for the sake of playing a game. Don’t get me wrong, though, it’s an incredibly polished puzzle game with fantastic graphics, fun music and a new take on an old concept.
If you’re on the fence about picking up the game, consider the Lite version and, if you’ve enjoyed it, why not buy it?
Available as a free ‘Lite’ version and a $0.99/£0.59/€0.79 full version.
Actually, I made sure all the fonts I used were free for commercial use, and for some reason YYG still changed some of them to Arial. A shame, but shmeh.
-Rhys
All I have to say is: Why is YYG obsessed with using awful fonts?
The fonts used are those Rhys Andrews (or the game’s original artist) chose – they’re the same ones used in the original Teka Teki, I believe (at least, the main font is).
Forgot to mention that in the review. The fact the highscore table uses Arial disgusts me. 😐
When I asked NAL about this with regards to Maddening he said the font he chose was free for commercial use, unlike the one he used in the original. Perhaps it’s a similar case here?
Because they are hip and down with the kids (or should I say kidz).
Presume it must be licensing but surely there are better free to use fonts out there.
Indeed!