There was a time just last week where I thought Iād seen it all from apps. I’d given up on seeing a remarkable game. Countless idle games would appear before me, city-building games made every other week. There was a time that I thought Iād seen it all, and then came Assemble With Care.
Assemble With Care is an absolutely amazing game with puzzles in the form of real-world items to be repaired, simple controls, and a story thatāll keep you reading until the very end. Literally. I am guilty of skipping through dialogues in countless games, but I couldnāt skip this one. Every scene is beautifully voice acted and each moment in the story is an adventure in and of itself.
You play as Maria, a young woman that succeeded in becoming a Restorer. Your job in this narrative is to fix objects of all shapes in sizes. You start out in a very short tutorial in which you must unpack your suitcase. I know, it sounds a little dull, but it ties in well with the entire story and is simply meant as an introduction. Luckily, the controls are simple enough and require only tapping and dragging on the screen.
Once the tutorial is over, the real fun begins. After each cutscene (which I highly recommend you watch as the story is one of this gameās strongest points) youāll take apart, fix, and reassemble various items. This could include anything from a simple yet meaningful cassette recorder to a rich womanās camera and even a cafeās neon sign with customizable options. You’ll be repairing broken, mangled gears with shiny new ones, changing out and hooking up wires appropriately, replacing smashed or otherwise damaged parts, and screwing and unscrewing and re-screwing things over and over again. There are even a few mini-games which Iād hate to spoil for you, so Iāll opt to keep them a secret.
But thatās not the place where this game shines. If ever there was a game to show how games are an art form, this is it. The graphics paint a peaceful and picturesque landscape that puts you at ease, especially when in conjunction with the music. The story is whimsical, simple, and meaningful. Every chapter, when youāre restoring items, youāre not just repairing them, youāre helping to repair a family. Itās a story I canāt get behind enough and a game Iām certain to play again.
Assemble With Care is, however, a short game. With 13 chapters to play, youāll find yourself done in about 2-4 hours depending on how quickly you figure out how to restore each individual item. Each chapter shouldnāt take more than 20 minutes and the vast majority will take less, so if youāre looking for a long-lasting game or one thatās more of a traditional puzzler, this isnāt it. There are also no major hints in the puzzles and so you may end up temporarily stuck. Luckily, no puzzle has more than around 15 pieces, so you shouldnāt be stuck for very long at all. You also have the benefit of having manuals in a couple of the chapters to help you along further.
This game is perfect for anyone with a love of stories, puzzles, and fixing things alike, but I highly recommend everyone take a quick peek at it. Thereās an even balance between story and puzzle so I doubt youāll find it lacking in any one area. Assemble With Care is truly one of the best apps Iāve played in far too long and really left me wanting more even though the story was wrapped up quite well. No matter if youāre still in your parentsā house or already having children of your own, I feel confident in recommending this game to each and every one of you.
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NOTE: Assemble with Care is available exclusively as part of Apple Arcade, a premium gaming subscription service from Apple. Without being a subscriber to Apple Arcade you cannot download and play this game. Apple Arcade is $4.99 per month and does come with a free one month trial, you can learn more about it here: https://www.apple.com/apple-arcade/