Hexologic Review (PC)

Review Context: I am a fan of puzzle games and also a fan of Sudoku puzzles. The last Sudoku game I played was Zen Sudoku.

Date of Playthrough: June 2018 – July 2018

PC Specs Game Played on:
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU 540 @ 3.07GHz
RAM: 8 GB
Video Card: GeForce GTX 950 2GB GDDR5 ACX 2.0 SC+
Resolution: 1280×800

Disclaimer: This review was based off of a review copy.

Hexologic, developed by Mythic Owl, is a game adaptation of Suduoku with its own spin using hexagon tiles. As a fan of Sudoku, Hexologic was immediately appealing to me, as Sudoku is something I don’t do often, but I used to do Sudoku puzzles in booklets at high difficulties. Hexologic is similar to Sudoku, but with a different rule set and a lot easier.

In Hexologic, the number in the flag on a tile represents the number what each tile in the straight line of that flag needs to add up to. Another key difference is that unlike in Suduku, in Hexologic numbers can be used more than once in a given number line. This makes the experience in the game easier, and to be honest, is probably one of the parts of game that I consider a major negative due to it taking away difficulty, but this is also a result of another limitation. For example, if there was a flag with the number “2” shown, if I chose a “1” tile in both tiles that easily sets the stage for the rest of the puzzle, causing a chain reaction of easy problem solving. Another element of the game that could use an upgrade and increase the difficulty, while still maintaining the concept of the game is increasing the numbers that can be chosen on a single tile. Currently you can only select up to the number “3” as choices per tile, but an increase up to “10” would increase the difficulty significantly. This limitation of choosing between three different numbers also made some of puzzles easier to solve, even later in the game. If the game was ever remastered or remade this should be seriously considered.

Despite the drop in difficulty compared to a normal Sudoku puzzle, Hexologic still manages to keep a level of challenge up in the later levels. The best of part of Hexologic is a twist involving a few certain color-coded tiles that are changed at the same time, that clearly increases the level of difficulty. If not for this new twist, the game would be way too easy. While your brain is busy being teased, the soundtrack of Hexologic is pretty relaxing and not bothersome at all.

Hexologic doesn’t have many levels (60), but there are bonus levels that are a bit tougher and available once you are done with the main levels. A Steam Workshop level editor was also recently released at the end of June. You have to launch the game from your Steam Library (instead of the quick launch) to get to choose the Game Editor. I played around with the Game Editor and it doesn’t do the best job of explaining the menu, but once you start tinkering with the tiles it is clear what everything does. Directly from the Game Editor you can access custom levels, download them, and play them right there. As of the writing of this review there were not that many levels uploaded, but the levels I did try were challenging.

The PC version is clearly appears to be a direct port of the mobile version, which is incredibly apparent with how the game’s user interface is presented and bad scrolling through levels. Although you can launch the Game Configuration launch menu for your resolution, in the game the options menu is pretty much non-existent. This is incredibly disappointing, as I hope Mythic Owl considers serious UI changes for the PC version to make it look made for the PC, with PC gamers in mind.

If you are a fan of Sudoku puzzles you will enjoy Hexologic, even if the difficulty is easier. The UI is clearly designed for mobile, so at this moment mobile may be the best choice of platform. However, with the addition of the Steam Workshop and the pledge by Mythic Owl to improve the game, the PC version may be best version in due time.

[July 19 UPDATE]

Mythic Owl has announced new free content to be released in Early September:

+40 new levels
2 new biomes
Gameplay features
New hex types
New difficulty levels

.. and more!

Similar Games Liked:
Zen Sudoku (PC)

July 19, 2018 Editor’s Note: Grammar and spelling corrections since publishing.