Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blek/id742625884 Blek kunabi brother GmbH Blek is a unique game about imagination and personality. Everything you draw keeps moving – and watching your creations … TouchArcade Rating: $4.99 Buy Now Watch Media DetailsBlek is a unique game about imagination and personality. Everything you draw keeps moving – and watching your creations move is like watching magic. The goal is simple: shape a line that collects all colored circles avoiding black holes on its route. There are no specific moves that you need to master. To every level countless solutions exist, from delightfully simple to exceptionally deep and complex, yet always elegant. ----- Articles & Commentaries ----- "The Most Brilliant iPad Game I've Played All Year." ~ Kotaku "One of the greatest joys of Blek is experimenting with your approach." ~ WIRED "It’s the sort of game you’d want to put on a space probe: when the aliens play it, they’ll take a liking to us right away." ~ The New Yorker "Wonderful experience" ~ Pocket Gamer "Blek is a thing of elegant, intuitive beauty" ~ Edge "One of the year’s best" ~ The New York Times ----- Awards ----- • Apple Design Award • Best Mobile Game - Casual Connect, Amsterdam • Excellence in Innovation - International Mobile Gaming Awards • Best Game - Content Award Vienna" Information Seller:kunabi brother GmbH Genre:Family, Puzzle Release:Dec 03, 2013 Updated:Feb 22, 2021 Version:1.8.6 Size:195.7 MB TouchArcade Rating: User Rating: (15) Your Rating:unrated Compatibility:HD Universal Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel bigrand1 Well-Known Member Apr 23, 2010 4,968 6 38 Geriatric Party Animal California, USA #2 bigrand1, Dec 2, 2013 Whoa, this looks bizarre! Gotta check it out! cloudpuff Well-Known Member Sep 12, 2013 3,600 0 36 lazy layabout uk #3 cloudpuff, Dec 3, 2013 I've played up to level 24 and am really enjoying what I have played so far. I think it would benefit from instructions of some sort as when new components are introduced it's no so obvious what is harmful. It doesn't take long to figure out though. At first it's not too obvious that if you draw diagonally then your line repeats diagonally instead of from left to right. These are the kind if things a how to play screen would be good for. There doesn't seem to be a scoring system and I love it for that as you are free to relax and mess about drawing patterns, a level select screen would be good though to go back and play previous levels instead of scrolling all the way back. The line recognition was pretty spot on and accurate for the most part but I did have the occasional crazy pattern from where the bottom of my hard caught the gameplay area as my finger touched the screen. I love this and it's going to be one of my games that I play when I wanna chill out. Gamer1st Well-Known Member Mar 19, 2013 774 0 0 None. But I dream about being able to work again. USA #4 Gamer1st, Dec 3, 2013 Last edited: Dec 3, 2013 My 2 cents.... This one's a little hard to review. I don't want to say too much and give too much away, but I also have to say something substantive. To avoid any spoilers I'll just say "buy it". If you need more info first, here goes... There's no opening scene, scores, listed rules, or instructions given. The game simply starts and you get to/have to figure it out. At its simplest you draw a line, and then that line repeats itself. It repeats all the way across the screen back-and-forth until it either encounters a black dot, or it goes off of one of the screen borders and resets. Draw it slow and it moves slowly draw fast and it goes fast. Your purpose is to clear all the colored dots without touching a black one. I figured the game was pretty simple until I hit level 10, (yes it was that early in the game) and then my mind just totally froze for a moment. The solution was easy, but it still took a minute to wrap my head around it. The game loves to throw new things at you just when you think you have it figured out. Buy this game. It has 60 levels and nearly endless replay value since there are multiple ways to clear each level. This is one of those titles you need to experience if you love games. Bring it out when your friend says there aren't any good games on tablets, or if you start to feel you've seen and played it all. I've been gaming since the earliest days of arcades, and after gaming for over 35 years, It's rare that I see something totally new and unique. This is both. If you like puzzles and/or new gaming experiences, you should love this. EDIT: Noticed you can cycle back and forth through levels by tapping the bottom left and right corner of the screen. You can only go as far forward as your last completed puzzle though. ustwogames Well-Known Member Jan 31, 2013 74 0 0 http://www.ustwo.co.uk #5 ustwogames, Dec 3, 2013 Looks absolutely beautiful guys, getting it installed on our new iPad now. chris1a Well-Known Member Mar 10, 2010 1,335 1 0 Sweden #6 chris1a, Dec 3, 2013 It does look fantastic. But I can definitely see myself getting stuck in this one. Is there any kind of hint (or skip) function implemented? cloudpuff Well-Known Member Sep 12, 2013 3,600 0 36 lazy layabout uk #7 cloudpuff, Dec 3, 2013 Nope. But it's fun figuring it out and seeing what different line patterns will do. chris1a Well-Known Member Mar 10, 2010 1,335 1 0 Sweden #8 chris1a, Dec 3, 2013 Thanks. Well it's still a must-buy, I'll just be naggin for videos on the levels I will get stuck on then klink ð® Spam Police ð Jul 22, 2013 1,617 0 0 No thank you USA https://twitter.com/BitGamerX #9 klink, Dec 4, 2013 Last edited: Dec 4, 2013 This game is amazing! The concept is a prefect fit for a touch screen enabled device. I love how it has such a clean organic feel to it. For example there's no music but the sound effects make a perfect background. This is a must buy for anyone who likes novel indie style games. I would write more but I'm going back for more. One more comment. It's almost like a piece of modern artwork. I could picture it being exhibited at the guggenheim. cowtruck123 Well-Known Member Oct 13, 2012 270 0 0 #10 cowtruck123, Dec 4, 2013 This looks great... Might download later FouriOS Well-Known Member Sep 3, 2013 59 0 0 Senior Enterprise Java developer Hungary http://www.fourios.com #11 FouriOS, Dec 4, 2013 It's a fun innovative game indeed, I had that "I'm stuck" moment on level 28. There's a nice solution in Drei by Etter for example to this problem. As you progress you unlock a few levels ahead, and you can skip and come back to ones that you had trouble with later. A similar would be great here as well. Cheers, Balázs dclose Well-Known Member Nov 20, 2011 1,866 0 0 #12 dclose, Dec 4, 2013 I agree. While the minimalist approach is very artistic, in a game the lack of a hint or skip system just comes across as unnecessarily punishing to less-creative users. There are so many games out there these days that you don't want to frustrate a player so much that they put down their device and don't come back to this game. This game is very beautiful, even though most of it is simply a white background with a few artistically placed bits. The visuals work, and match the style of play. You get practically no instruction. Simply an on-screen path drawn for you for the first level. After that, it's up to you. If I hadn't watched the trailer video, I would probably have gotten stuck a lot earlier. Again, while the minimal approach is artistic, a hint system or even a gesture-suggestion system -- even just a screen of a few samples -- would go a long way toward helping users progress. At least you aren't sold unlocks (though I did wonder if that would be coming). I love that the game is mostly about experimentation, and I can see choosing to sit and think about the solutions, and trying a bunch of different things, but I'd still recommend some way to progress further by user choice. There's not even a "return to menu" or "choose levels" screen, simply a forward-backward arrow choice between the current level and previous ones, if you want to replay lower ones to try out different solutions. I can see getting really irritated at trying to remember what lower level that cool multicolored setup was on, and being annoyed at having to page through 65 screens to get there. So in summary: gorgeous! Get it if you love minimalist, artistic, abstract games, especially drawing or line-drawing ones. But expect to get stuck and tear out your hair at some point. (I hope developer's insurance covers hair loss damage.) klink ð® Spam Police ð Jul 22, 2013 1,617 0 0 No thank you USA https://twitter.com/BitGamerX #13 klink, Dec 4, 2013 Very nice review. It's like the Paper 53 of games. It took the Paper 53 people two years to create a magnifying glass but they did it. Maybe a seamless hint system will eventually come to Blek. I personally don't mind it because I like playing around with the levels so much! cloudpuff Well-Known Member Sep 12, 2013 3,600 0 36 lazy layabout uk #14 cloudpuff, Dec 4, 2013 I feel the same, I'm at level 50 now and there have been a few I've gotten really stuck on but it wasn't too frustrating as I had a lot of fun just doing random squiggles to see what happens and then develop my line from there. max-o Well-Known Member Dec 5, 2013 56 0 0 #15 max-o, Dec 5, 2013 this is the best game i've ever played while drunk. i mean that in the best way. it just works and is relaxing. relax on a couch with my dog with after a long night with some blek. dclose Well-Known Member Nov 20, 2011 1,866 0 0 #16 dclose, Dec 5, 2013 Pocket Gamer has a great review, and they end on a quote that I echo: "It's a shame that those soaring moments are dragged down a little by the tougher levels, but there's still enough here to make Blek one of the most intriguing puzzlers on the App Store." Please do consider some type of minimal menu access, so we can choose to go directly to levels we wish to replay, rather than paging and paging endlessly. And please do consider adding some type of skip or hint system. Preferably something unobtrusive that those who wish to sit with the game for a while can easily ignore, and those who are really stuck can made use of. Otherwise the only solution I see is look for walkthroughs on YouTube, and that ruins the fun! ploink Active Member Dec 13, 2010 36 0 6 Male Designer / Programmer Berlin, Germany http://www.delicioustoys.de/ #17 ploink, Dec 7, 2013 Look like a beautiful creative game. Can't wait to try it our, especially looking forward to the chain reactions... kunabi-brother Active Member Nov 28, 2013 40 0 0 http://kunabi-brother.com #18 kunabi-brother, Dec 10, 2013 Thank you very much, it means a lot to read constructive feedback from somebody who loves our game. We were thinking hard of what would be the best way to introduce some kind of menu/hint system, but we don't want to break the flow that is perfectly described in this Edge article: "Playing Blek is pure intuition, not a puzzler so much as an act of freeform creation. Thats quite a feat within a genre which can feel so stiff and prescribed. Blek understands that reaching a puzzles solution isnt the only joy that the journey to a Eureka moment is entertainment in and of itself." Now we are very close to something - it's not a compromise and it would not break anything. Our January update could bring some surprises, so stay tuned TreeHouse Active Member Jan 2, 2013 39 0 0 #19 TreeHouse, Dec 12, 2013 Anyone got a solution to 28? It seems like I should get it but I cannot make it happen. chris1a Well-Known Member Mar 10, 2010 1,335 1 0 Sweden #20 chris1a, Dec 12, 2013 "*** After a great opening week - 70% off" LOL. AppStore game devs = (You must log in or sign up to post here.) Show Ignored Content Page 1 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next > Share This Page Tweet Your name or email address: Do you already have an account? No, create an account now. Yes, my password is: Forgot your password? Stay logged in
I've played up to level 24 and am really enjoying what I have played so far. I think it would benefit from instructions of some sort as when new components are introduced it's no so obvious what is harmful. It doesn't take long to figure out though. At first it's not too obvious that if you draw diagonally then your line repeats diagonally instead of from left to right. These are the kind if things a how to play screen would be good for. There doesn't seem to be a scoring system and I love it for that as you are free to relax and mess about drawing patterns, a level select screen would be good though to go back and play previous levels instead of scrolling all the way back. The line recognition was pretty spot on and accurate for the most part but I did have the occasional crazy pattern from where the bottom of my hard caught the gameplay area as my finger touched the screen. I love this and it's going to be one of my games that I play when I wanna chill out.
My 2 cents.... This one's a little hard to review. I don't want to say too much and give too much away, but I also have to say something substantive. To avoid any spoilers I'll just say "buy it". If you need more info first, here goes... There's no opening scene, scores, listed rules, or instructions given. The game simply starts and you get to/have to figure it out. At its simplest you draw a line, and then that line repeats itself. It repeats all the way across the screen back-and-forth until it either encounters a black dot, or it goes off of one of the screen borders and resets. Draw it slow and it moves slowly draw fast and it goes fast. Your purpose is to clear all the colored dots without touching a black one. I figured the game was pretty simple until I hit level 10, (yes it was that early in the game) and then my mind just totally froze for a moment. The solution was easy, but it still took a minute to wrap my head around it. The game loves to throw new things at you just when you think you have it figured out. Buy this game. It has 60 levels and nearly endless replay value since there are multiple ways to clear each level. This is one of those titles you need to experience if you love games. Bring it out when your friend says there aren't any good games on tablets, or if you start to feel you've seen and played it all. I've been gaming since the earliest days of arcades, and after gaming for over 35 years, It's rare that I see something totally new and unique. This is both. If you like puzzles and/or new gaming experiences, you should love this. EDIT: Noticed you can cycle back and forth through levels by tapping the bottom left and right corner of the screen. You can only go as far forward as your last completed puzzle though.
It does look fantastic. But I can definitely see myself getting stuck in this one. Is there any kind of hint (or skip) function implemented?
Thanks. Well it's still a must-buy, I'll just be naggin for videos on the levels I will get stuck on then
This game is amazing! The concept is a prefect fit for a touch screen enabled device. I love how it has such a clean organic feel to it. For example there's no music but the sound effects make a perfect background. This is a must buy for anyone who likes novel indie style games. I would write more but I'm going back for more. One more comment. It's almost like a piece of modern artwork. I could picture it being exhibited at the guggenheim.
It's a fun innovative game indeed, I had that "I'm stuck" moment on level 28. There's a nice solution in Drei by Etter for example to this problem. As you progress you unlock a few levels ahead, and you can skip and come back to ones that you had trouble with later. A similar would be great here as well. Cheers, Balázs
I agree. While the minimalist approach is very artistic, in a game the lack of a hint or skip system just comes across as unnecessarily punishing to less-creative users. There are so many games out there these days that you don't want to frustrate a player so much that they put down their device and don't come back to this game. This game is very beautiful, even though most of it is simply a white background with a few artistically placed bits. The visuals work, and match the style of play. You get practically no instruction. Simply an on-screen path drawn for you for the first level. After that, it's up to you. If I hadn't watched the trailer video, I would probably have gotten stuck a lot earlier. Again, while the minimal approach is artistic, a hint system or even a gesture-suggestion system -- even just a screen of a few samples -- would go a long way toward helping users progress. At least you aren't sold unlocks (though I did wonder if that would be coming). I love that the game is mostly about experimentation, and I can see choosing to sit and think about the solutions, and trying a bunch of different things, but I'd still recommend some way to progress further by user choice. There's not even a "return to menu" or "choose levels" screen, simply a forward-backward arrow choice between the current level and previous ones, if you want to replay lower ones to try out different solutions. I can see getting really irritated at trying to remember what lower level that cool multicolored setup was on, and being annoyed at having to page through 65 screens to get there. So in summary: gorgeous! Get it if you love minimalist, artistic, abstract games, especially drawing or line-drawing ones. But expect to get stuck and tear out your hair at some point. (I hope developer's insurance covers hair loss damage.)
Very nice review. It's like the Paper 53 of games. It took the Paper 53 people two years to create a magnifying glass but they did it. Maybe a seamless hint system will eventually come to Blek. I personally don't mind it because I like playing around with the levels so much!
I feel the same, I'm at level 50 now and there have been a few I've gotten really stuck on but it wasn't too frustrating as I had a lot of fun just doing random squiggles to see what happens and then develop my line from there.
this is the best game i've ever played while drunk. i mean that in the best way. it just works and is relaxing. relax on a couch with my dog with after a long night with some blek.
Pocket Gamer has a great review, and they end on a quote that I echo: "It's a shame that those soaring moments are dragged down a little by the tougher levels, but there's still enough here to make Blek one of the most intriguing puzzlers on the App Store." Please do consider some type of minimal menu access, so we can choose to go directly to levels we wish to replay, rather than paging and paging endlessly. And please do consider adding some type of skip or hint system. Preferably something unobtrusive that those who wish to sit with the game for a while can easily ignore, and those who are really stuck can made use of. Otherwise the only solution I see is look for walkthroughs on YouTube, and that ruins the fun!
Look like a beautiful creative game. Can't wait to try it our, especially looking forward to the chain reactions...
Thank you very much, it means a lot to read constructive feedback from somebody who loves our game. We were thinking hard of what would be the best way to introduce some kind of menu/hint system, but we don't want to break the flow that is perfectly described in this Edge article: "Playing Blek is pure intuition, not a puzzler so much as an act of freeform creation. Thats quite a feat within a genre which can feel so stiff and prescribed. Blek understands that reaching a puzzles solution isnt the only joy that the journey to a Eureka moment is entertainment in and of itself." Now we are very close to something - it's not a compromise and it would not break anything. Our January update could bring some surprises, so stay tuned