The Voxel Agents, developers of the smash hit Train Conductor series, have launched their award winning title ‘Puzzle Retreat’ on the Amazon App Store. Since its release on January 31st on the Apple App Store, Puzzle Retreat has been downloaded over 2.5 million times.
Puzzle Retreat has received the Casual Connect Asia’s Top 10 Indie Prize Award and Game Connect Asia Pacific’s Accessibility Award. It has also been nominated for Freeplay’s Design Award, Freeplay’s Visual Art Award and Game Connect Asia Pacific’s Excellence In Design.
Players and critics alike have all reviewed Puzzle Retreat extremely favourably, with a consistent 5 star rating on the App Store and Google Play.
Users of the Amazon App Store can now play through the first 60 puzzles free of charge.
Puzzle Retreat is a unique block sliding puzzle game that fuses elements from Sudoku and Sokoban to create whole new challenge for puzzle lovers.
With two just two rules that dictate gameplay, Puzzle Retreat is incredibly easy to learn but at the same time compellingly deep. Players slide blocks to fill holes in a grid. They must fill all the holes and use all the blocks.
The challenge is in determining a correct sequence to slide the blocks. With the addition of special blocks such as the Fire Blocks and Stop Blocks and the special Bonsai tree, Puzzle Retreat provides a perfect learning curve for puzzle veterans and those new to the puzzle experience.
Highlights:
● Just two rules: Fill all the holes. Use all the blocks.
● In-game discussion page for each puzzle
● Consuming and relaxing experience – get lost in this unique puzzle game
● Free to download with sixty puzzles to solve, and extra puzzle packs available for purchase
Availability and Pricing:
Puzzle Retreat contains sixty puzzles to solve for free. Six additional puzzle packs are available via In-App Billing[1] at $0.99 USD each (prices will vary internationally).
Website: http://puzzleretreat.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/puzzleretreat
Twitter: @PuzzleRetreat
What the critics are saying:
● “I guarantee you will love this game.” – Mark Serrels, Kotaku.com
● “So smart and so well-made, why wasn’t it created a billion years ago?” – John Bardinelli, JayIsGames.com
● “A seriously addictive title: easy-to-learn gameplay; no pressure; bite-sized levels; and cerebral problem solving. There is not a single flaw.” – Michelle Starr, CNET.com
● “With every puzzle I completed I felt compelled to see what was around the next corner and…not once have I been disappointed.” – Mark Isaacson, IndieGameMagazine.com
● “Puzzle Retreat is a brilliant zen-like puzzler.” – Andrew Nesvadba, AppSpy.com
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More details on Puzzle Retreat:
Escape to the Puzzle Retreat and immerse yourself in this unique block-.sliding puzzle game from the creators of the smash-hit Train Conductor series. Shut off the outside world. Relax, unwind and focus with a new type of puzzle that is both simple to learn and devilishly deep.
Key features:
Fresh Gameplay – Taking elements from Sudoku and Sokoban, Puzzle Retreat is a fresh challenge that will have you losing track of time and forgetting about the outside world.
Simple Rules – 1. Slide the ice blocks to fill all the holes in the grid. 2. Use all the blocks.
Deep Challenge – the challenge comes from working out the order to slide the blocks and really ramps up with the addition of special blocks, including Fire Blocks and Stop Blocks, as well as Arrow Blocks, which alter the direction of sliding blocks
No bottlenecks – stuck on a puzzle? No problem, just move on to the next and come back to solve it later
Lots of Puzzles – includes sixty puzzles to solve for free, and four premium puzzle packs available via In-App Billing.
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Development History
The Voxel Agents are a development studio based in Melbourne, Australia, with a goal to create original hand-crafted games for “on-the-go” fun times.
The Agents found success with Train Conductor (2009), winner of ‘Best Game Audio’ at Freeplay, and Train Conductor 2: USA (2010), winner of ‘Best Mobile Game’ at the Independent Games Festival in China. Together they have been downloaded more than 5 million times. Branching out from the Train Conductor series, they decided to make a new game with a focus on puzzles rather than arcade action.
Nearly two years in development, Puzzle Retreat went through numerous iterations and over forty art styles as the team strove to create a new puzzle game mechanic that was both instantly comprehensible to players of any ability but also infinitely deep.
Their process involved stopping people on the street for impromptu play tests and eventually resulted in the mechanics and presentation of Puzzle Retreat. Puzzle Retreat launched onto the App Store on January 31st 2013, and Google Play three weeks later.