Puzzle games involving colour matching have been around since the dawn of gaming so indie developers have to find a nifty and interesting game mechanic to separate their game out from the crowd. In a zen papercraft like way, Dissembler does that easily with its crisp design, handcrafted levels and clever twist on the genre.
Dissembler reminds me of undoing origami. You are presented with a collection of coloured tiles and you must flip them to match colours together in groups of three or more. Each flip must create a match, so puzzles are quick to complete, once you work out the logic method you need to use. Things quickly progress though so that tiles have more than one layer of colour, so you’ll be flipping the top layer over, whilst making sure you that you can still complete things with the layer underneath.
There is a level of satisfaction like a clockwork toy as levels get progressively harder as tiles twist and spin with satisfying clicks as you unravel the puzzles. If you are colour blind there is an option for you too, where limited colours and symbols can help you solve the puzzles. The penalty for failure is small as you can undo any move you’ve done before, although in later levels you will probably make many mistakes before you solve something.
Beyond this, there are daily puzzles that you can complete, as well as two infinite modes where different colours will continue to appear underneath what you clear until you run out of moves. They live up to their name as they can go on for a very long time if you’re careful but the satisfaction is immense as this is the only mode where scoring matters and counts.
Your brain might hurt a bit?
I’d place this game alongside the equally beautiful and minimalistic Strata as a great block and colour puzzler that isn’t afraid to throw in a decent mechanic and test your wits. I thoroughly recommend the game – just think logically and go at your own pace and you’ll be fine. I could see the twisting tile mechanics being used as an even harder sequel!