Unwynd with this modern, mobile version of tic-tac-toe (review)

Unwynd is a puzzle game developed by India’s Dropout Games, a two-man team formerly part of LucidLabs. Unwynd is literally what its name implies: a game that offers a great way to unwind. Here’s why.

Gameplay

Unwynd is noughts and crosses a.k.a. tic-tac-toe given a new digital life. Puzzles are separated into levels, with each level’s board containing teal and orange squares. Swiping over one square will send a line of the same color across the screen in the same direction you swiped. If this line crosses through a square of the same color, it marks a nought. If it passes through a square of a different color, it marks out a cross. The aim is to mark the exact number of noughts and crosses needed to get past the current level.

How contrasting colors mark out noughts and crosses in the squares is not immediately obvious at first. There’s a short tutorial when you start the game but I didn’t find it thorough enough. I was randomly swiping at boxes the first few levels, but had to ask the developer for further explanation before I could progress further. This, of course, could be just me – I learn better when I try something out as opposed to simply reading about it.

Once I figured out what was going on, Unwynd proved to be a nice time-killer – if you like using your brain, that is. It’s not an easy game!

Aesthetics

Unwynd shares the minimalist aesthetic we’ve seen in Roto. Its color scheme is not one that lends itself to inciting calm in the player, with its riot of teal and orange, but the contrasting colors highlight how the game works. There is no background music and sound effects are limited to swipes and button presses.

Overall

Unwynd is a nice, slow-paced breather compared to other typical time-killing mobile games. It may take you a while to finish, depending on how capable you are, but there are two more collections that can be unlocked for a fee. Available in a variety of languages including Chinese and Japanese, Unwynd is available on the Windows Phone store and Google Play.

7.5/10.