When you think of love, what do you think of? Is it bits of data in a computer system? I didn’t think so. Some of you probably thought of France, or at least Paris. And that, my friends, is why Bit Bit Love ($0.99), a logic puzzler about two bits of data who fall in love and try to find each other while avoiding deletion, obviously came from French studios Blue Pill Games and 82 Storks. Everything suddenly made sense when I learned that.
Love isn’t allowed in the cold, sterile world of data and artificial intelligence. At least, that’s what most movies on the subject seem to have taught me. Most… (Insert mental image of Arnold Schwarzenegger sinking into molten lava and giving a thumbs up. Bro.) So when R0D and A5CA break the rules of the system, they must be deleted by security agents. A5CA is constantly taken away to some other part of the system, and you as R0D must rescue her. The premise may not be some emotional, knockdown, drag out, overrated Nicholas Sparks romance, but it’s still a better love story than Twilight!
The premise is cute and basic and only serves as a nice little background to the actual level to level gameplay. You’ll get simple little cutscenes now and again, and R0D talks incessantly about how much he misses A5CA like a fourteen year old blogging on Xanga. Dated reference aside, I actually like this game a lot. The puzzling can be pretty intense as you navigate R0D through a grid-like level, avoiding security bits and trying to reach the exit. Gameplay is a bit complicated at first, but you get used to it in no time at all.
So this game works in turns, or phases. Every phase, R0D and each agent on the board, always have to move. Each has a small circle rotating around them, indicating which direction they’ll rotate if they hit a wall or dead end, and a single turn also counts as a phase. A small number also indicates the turn order of everyone. Your main way of manipulating events is through the barriers. Green barriers are open, and red barriers are closed, and act as walls. You can open and close any barrier at any time, and as the game progresses, you get the ability to close more than one at a time. Each level is pure logic. There is no random chance. You can sequence out every move that will take place perfectly in your head if you want. It feels like a very pure puzzle game in that way. There is only one single best solution in each level, and you’ll earn a three heart rating if you find it.
You don’t have to get a heart rating to continue, however. You only need to reach the exit. It would be cruel to ask otherwise, with how difficult some of these levels can get. If you aren’t worried about a perfect rating, you can also rewind time in this game, pretty much limitlessly, and go backwards through phases instead of forwards. Each backwards phase does add to your overall counter, of course. The difficulty is kind of all over the place. There are plenty of easy-peasy puzzles throughout, but you’ll occasionally come up against a brick wall. Or a firewall, I guess. You’ve got 100 levels, and several bonus challenge levels to play through.
The game offers more challenge as you progress through new agent types, hazardous broken circuits that you need to avoid, and even spaces on the board that switch the direction of your rotation, which come in at about halfway. New agents include the speed agents which get two steps every phase, and even ghost agents, which pass right through your barriers. I felt genuine shock and intimidation when they showed up. Want to know when things get really heated? The joint levels in which you must guide both R0D and A5CA to the exit. At the same time. You only win if they both stand on the tile at the same time. These are really fun, and add a whole new dimension to the game. Naturally, like certain video game divas, she gets kidnapped again and again throughout.
This game offers tons of content, especially if you’re a perfectionist. It will take you a long, long time to master every level. Some levels feel tedious, frustrating, or are even easy and boring. Like I said, it varies. I don’t know how they would have done it, but some kind of hint system would be appreciated for those real tough sons of bits. Otherwise there isn’t much to say. The pixel art graphics are really well done, in that they’re consistent with the theme and setting, and this feels like a very old school game in the simplicity of the mechanics. No one really showed this game any love at release, but it definitely deserves some. Don’t we all? Throw it a bone. It’s well worth the price if you enjoy puzzles. Maybe show some love in our forums and talk solutions.
