After replaying levels many, many times, I finally got the Land Mine kill to register (so the last few in-game achievements would unlock) ...but I still don't know what the difference is between what seemed to be land-mine kills and what the game actually counts. So for anyone else encountering that apparent glitch, just be patient and keep playing!
Is anyone else having a problem with Land Mine kills not registering? I've killed multiple enemies with mines I placed, and a few by knocking them into an existing mine / knocking the mine onto them. I was looking forward to getting all the achievements, but if there's a land-mine glitch, I can't. Maybe I'm just missing something obvious...?
This was fun! I actually liked the patterns fine, but wished the colors available were either more complementary, or more contrasting... the effect of putting more than two colors in any of the patterns wasn't very aesthetically pleasing, to my eye. Loved that soothing, jazzy music, though! Awarding an easy badge for achieving gold-star solutions to every level would help more players discover this sweet little game...
So soothing... The curving graphics and peaceful music relax the stress right out of you; the absence of a timer frees you to enjoy finding the correct paths, and savor the satisfaction of completing each level. I could play this game forever... if there were more than 35 levels!
When I earn a badge but notice it doesn't register, I click the "Report missing achievement" link that's right at the bottom of the tab listing the badge requirements. This has happened to me a couple of times, and the turnaround time on the badge corrections is amazing, well under 24 hours. What I don't bother doing, when a badge doesn't immediately show up after I've earned it, is post a comment on the game complaining about it, since that would do no one any good.
Great, unique puzzle game! I wish fewer levels seemed to rely on perfect timing,becoming action-puzzler levels in a physics-puzzle game. A proper tutorial, along with a better-balanced difficulty ramp, would've been nice. If the video previews of every level can be disabled, I missed it, and those are probably hell on players with slower computers and/or internet. Kong API for high scores would add the fun of competing against others rather than merely one's own previous best. But, those relatively minor quibbles aside, 'Magnets' is genius! I really like that all but three levels are unlocked. The mechanics are innovative, the graphics and sounds work well, and the in-game instructions are clear without being overwhelmingly complex. Perhaps most impressive of all was the existence of multiple solutions to each puzzle (at least for the levels I checked) -- a feature far more puzzle games should incorporate. 'Magnets' unquestionably deserves at least 4/5 stars; I gave it 5/5.
I've made it through all the levels except the last one. Do I need to get the 2 or 3 remaining 'S' balls before it unlocks, or do something else? I've also unlocked the 'bigger' and 'smaller' balls, but not the 'extra-big' one, yet... Love the game, anyway. Great combination of strategy and luck, perfect for playing while chatting, and great soundtrack. 4.5/5
Sometimes works of creativity -- whether fiction, poetry, music, paintings or, yes, games -- are best when the audience brings their own meaning to what the artist has created. If you feel Stjernevandrer is lacking in storyline, perhaps the fault lies in your own lack of imagination...
The only thing that seemed missing from 'Zilch' was little scratch-paper comments when the score is tied. We get them for virtually everything else, and they really contribute to the mellow tone of the game. Every time the score was tied, I expected a little note to pop up saying "All tied up!" or "[player formerly in the lead] has met their match!" or some similar nugget of wit...
This is one of the most fun games I've played on Kongregate yet! Incredibly well-balanced, right down to the way many of the in-game medals are for failing rather than winning. It also featured one of the only Hard badges I've earned, and definitely the most enjoyable... and no, ericleb01, it didn't take me two weeks. Just four days, with plenty of time off Kong, and breaks to chat and play against my friends while I was here. I didn't need to look up the requirements for the medals, either, as so many of them had fairly obvious ones once I earned the lowest echelon in their section. Five stars!
I'm impressed with this new twist on the classic Tetris. After playing '99 Bricks' and 'Monotris' recently, I didn't think there were going to be any more decent games in the Tetris vein for a while... but I'm glad to see I was wrong! Here's hoping Tetrist seem amiss either. ;)
Why are so many people complaining about missing badges when there's a "Report missing achievement" link right on the Achievements tab, with simple instructions? I've had two games' badges fail to award in the past, and reported them after waiting to make sure they weren't just delayed; both times, the awesome Kongregate staff had my missing badges awarded to me in LESS THAN 24 HOURS. So if you don't have these badges despite earning them, stop writing whiny comments and actually follow the procedure -- it takes barely more time than posting a comment!
Over a million plays... but fewer than ten thousand people have ever beaten the game? Hmm, could that be because the lack of save functionality renders players' chances of being able to beat the game dependent on luck rather than skill? I really hope this playability-killing flaw has been corrected in the sequel. It's such a shame when everything else about the game is so great.
Since there's nothing else to spend money on after purchasing all the upgrades, adding the ability to buy processing cycles (at a hefty cost, maybe 2500k/cycle) -- only after all upgrades have been purchased -- seems like it would make continuing to play more interesting without being unbalancing. I'd be back to play a lot more often if that feature were added. Fantastic game otherwise, though, one of your best!
I've always loved mazes, but most video-game applications of mazes have failed to capture what makes them compelling. Combining the maze theme with a physics puzzle game was sheer genius. I don't bother getting a lot of the 'hard' badges here, but Sola Rola held my interest and kept me delighted all the way to the last level... after which I was sad there were no more left to play. 7/5, and while I rarely say this, please, PLEASE make a sequel!
The three tripswitches look like rectangular panels on walls, somewhat similar to the specimen reports. One tripswitch is behind the tube-shaped vat you began the game in. One is to the left of the exit door. And one is just to the left of the tables containing science equipment. Each tripswitch lever needs to be clicked on nine times to switch it on; the hotspot is at the pointy end of the lever. Also, the keycards are in the specimen area -- not sure why unplugging a vat puts a keycard into your inventory, but it does. That should cover everything you need to open the exit that wasn't included in Daxter697's excellent guide to finding all the sample tubes.
For anyone who can't watch (or dislikes watching) walkthrough videos, there's a great walkthrough and review of Synapsis atJayIsGames.com, aka the Casual Gameplay site. I like their spoiler-tagged walkthroughs because they make it easy to find the one thing that may be stumping me without ruining any of the puzzles I can solve on my own. And this shouldn't need to be said, but no, of course Kong can't tell whether you look at a walkthrough; I have the badge to prove it! 5/5 for a nicely surreal game that managed not to get impossibly bizarre.
Usually I hate these kinds of games, but this one was actually enjoyable for me, despite my utter lack of a 'shoot stuff, YEAH!' mindset. The audio, level layouts and silhouette-style graphics really worked to create an edge-of-my-seat feeling, even though the creatures were relatively easy to kill once I figured out their movement patterns. I'm honestly looking forward to finishing this one so I can play the sequel. (Hopefully the game will save my progress and I won't have to start over...) Even the in-game instructions were well-done, introducing new elements clearly, and not too many at once like many other games do. Are you sure you're only fifteen years old? =3
 "Gravitee Wars"){kind=icon}
 "Flood Fill"){kind=icon}
 "Loops Of Zen III"){kind=icon}
 "Flight"){kind=icon}
 "Magnets"){kind=icon}
 "Ball Drop One"){kind=icon}
 "Star Wanderer (Stjernevandrer)"){kind=icon}
 "Zilch"){kind=icon}
 "Go Robot Go!"){kind=icon}
 "Tetris<45"){kind=icon}
 "Blocks With Letters On"){kind=icon}
 "Ring Pass Not"){kind=icon}
 "I Am An Insane Rogue AI"){kind=icon}
 "Sola Rola - The Gravity Maze"){kind=icon}
 "Being One"){kind=icon}
 "Synapsis"){kind=icon}
 "LOL, The sexy green button named Sonny, episode 2"){kind=icon}
 "Cold Awakening"){kind=icon}