INB280 Game Analysis: Cogs (PC)

Game Summary

Cogs, produced by lazy 8 studios is a refreshingly new take on the slider puzzle. Rather than moving tiles to make a picture, the player instead rearranges various cogs, pipes and gears in order to complete over 50 steampunk contraptions ranging from a jack in the box to a rocket ship.

Game analysis

Going into Cogs I was amazed by just how immersive the experience was, the levels are rendered in full 3D and packed with enough brass, wood, copper and of course cogs to please any steampunk fan. The games simplistic audio track is filled with various clicks, clunks and whirs that help to further immerse you in the games mechanical feel. As with all puzzles games the most important aspect is the Puzzles and the puzzles in Cogs are fantastic, not just challenging but imaginative and more importantly fun. Most of the time you won’t realize what you’re building until the end.

As with all puzzle games there are points where the game gets frustrating, for example when double sided puzzles are introduced, requiring you to think about how moves on one side of the board effect the other. Cogs can at times be insanely difficult however when you see the contraption you’ve been tinkering with for the fifteen minuets sprout wings, belch fire or rocket off screen, any negative feelings toward the game are quickly replaced by supreme smugness and awe.

Conclusion

On the whole Cogs is an extremely enjoyable game, fun and imaginative enough to keep you plowing through it, even if only to see what cool things that each invention can do.