RYB Review (iOS)

RYB is making me feel awfully stupid and this may come as a surprise, but I don't like feeling stupid. I don't like being thrown into a puzzle without directions, forced to solve it on my own with not even the slightest clue as to how I can do it, and that's what RYB does. I've played the game for about thirty minutes now, cleared ten puzzles, and still don't know what I'm doing; it hasn't clicked and I keep hoping, with each new puzzle, some switch in me will turn on and, suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, I'll get it, but that's still not the case and I don't know how much more time I want to spend feeling stupid before enough is enough.

And just like that, after taking a break from writing this to play a wee bit more, I finally get it. It's quite simple and fairly obvious, making me feel stupid in a completely different way, but I don't think that excuses the horrible first impression RYB gave me, especially for a mobile game, which, more so than ever, are quite disposable these days--there are so many mobile games coming out each and every day that, if a game doesn't grab one's attention immediately, it's very easy to just delete it and move onto a new one, something I was so close to doing with RYB, until it clicked--however, even though I finally get it, I can't recommend a game that throws the player into the middle of the ocean without a life raft, turning its back while saying, "Don't scream for help, just figure it out on your own."

I respect RYB's design choice and I'm starting to enjoy the game now that I get it, but every second before my revelation, when I was brute forcing each and every puzzle, trying every possibility until I completed them, I wasn't enjoying the game and, if I wasn't writing this piece that you're reading right now, I wouldn't have given RYB a second chance let me get it. Just think of it this way, if someone slaps you in the face when they first meet you and then they give you a hug, what will you remember when you think of them?

RYB. (iOS Universal App - $1.99)