Squarism

Classic grid-movement games are nothing new. From the quintessential Chess to modern entries like PushFight, the idea of pieces moving from one square to the next is as old as time.

Squarism takes this idea and melds it with the goal of combining dots into a square. This starts from a simple 2x2 square (4 dots to connect) and eventually rolls into figuring out how to get 16 dots to fit into a 4x4 square, while simultaneously layering on complexity in the way of grid design and dot behavior. Despite the lack of originality in the framework, the game does manage to do its own thing with it. 

As the above image clearly shows, you must make a square out of the dots. No other shape will do, and once you've messed up, you can easily reset the level and try again. You must also be able to move into the dots to "capture" them depending on the behavior of the dot, as indicated by its color.

For the first few levels, you will just have to contend with blue dots, that you push against with your pink dot to connect to it. If multiple dots are pushed at the same time, they all connect to the shape you are making, and you must be able to push your existing shape into the dot in order to connect it.

After a while the game introduces green dots which connect to your shape even if you are just parallel to it, increasing the complexity.

This is just the first layer of difficulty in a game that starts to get a little too obtuse around the halfway mark. Other color dots with different behaviors, and radically intricate game boards, and too many spread out, disparate-colored dots start to bog down the idea that you can figure any levels out without painful trial and error.

The game offers 70 levels but I was only able to get around two-thirds of the way through. After that I felt like I was just taking stabs at anything and everything trying to figure it out. If a game starts to feel more like Thomas Edison's attempt to perfect the light bulb and less like a puzzle game, it's generally time for me to turn it off.

Squarism is one of those indie games that has a clever hook on an established format, and it executes about as well as one could imagine given its limited ability to branch off from its core design. While the game certainly has appeal to die-hard puzzle enthusiasts, its lack of anything more means there are probably better ways you could spend your time.

Squarism is not a bad game by any means, but its unique take becomes uniquely boring too quickly. Is it worth the $3 being asked for it? Only if you don't want to spend the time looking for anything better.