Storyblocks: The King should have been an easy recommend on the Switch. It is a nice and relaxing puzzle game that is not particularly taxing. You have a starting block and multiple end blocks. You make a path to one of the end blocks using all of the provided blocks. The hook is that there is a story about young man leaving his home village for adventure. You can either continue the story by linking to a sign block, or end the story with a book block and start over. I got a few endings and enjoyed the idea immensely. I found other, similar games. like Dolemenjord more brain taxing that Storyblocks: The King is. This is fine. So far, so good.
What knocks Storyblocks: The King down to a Your Mileage May Vary are the controls. Simply put, placing blocks on the Switch is a nightmare. The controls were designed for a mouse(there is a Steam version). You can only use the stick and the blocks do not snap into place. This makes placing blocks far harder than it should be as you cannot connect blocks unless they have a green outline. Getting the green outline is often more trouble than it should be. The developers should have reworked the controls so that you can use the D-pad and the blocks snap into place. As it is, you are spending more time fighting the controls than enjoying the game and story. Also the menu button at the top does not work.
I wanted to like Storyblocks: The King. I wanted to recommend it. However, with the controls being what they are, I simply have no interest in experiencing more of it and getting all the ending. This is disappointing. This game will get a YMMV verdict with a six back-end score.
Overall: If you don’t mind fighting the controls, you might enjoy Storyblocks: The King.
Verdict: YMMV
| Release Date | 4/4/24 |
| Cost | $4.99 |
| Publisher | Afil Games |
| ESRB Rating | E |
Game received for free from the publisher!
