I gave it 5 stars. Its a great game with hundreds of styles to play, a really brainstorming game for everybody to play. My mother loves it and plays it all day long these days. And free dlcs is another good point, too.

Great game! Arcen is a great developer. After AI WAR they now offer us this casual game... with a twist. Addictive, compelling and fun, Tidalis is a great casual game, perfect to wind-off. It really good and it surprises you! A must buy and Arcen is a developer to support, definitely.

When I discovered Tidalis, my first thought was, "Oh, another match-3 game." and I almost clicked the "back" button. I'm glad I didn't, because Tidalis is different, something fresh, and something deep.

Describing Tidalis is a little challenging. It's a bit like Planet Puzzle League, and a tad like Tetris, and yes, it has some aspects in common with the games where you match tiles, but again, not really! So, how is it played?

The objective of the game is to connect three or more blocks of the same colour. Nothing new so far, right? Right. Stay with me, though. Each block has an arrow that points in one of four possible directions. You cannot move or swap the blocks, but you can manipulate the arrows. When you click on a block, it starts to emit a stream of coloured light.

The colour of the stream is the same as the block's. It'll go in the direction of the arrow. The stream goes from block to block, always taking the direction of the current block. The stream will go through a maximum of two blocks that have a different colour than itself, then it fizzles. Blocks of the same colour keep it going. When the stream ends, the blocks of the same colour that it went through disappear, just like they would in, say, Tetris. This will start additional streams, triggered by the blocks that fall down. You can manipulate the directional arrows of the blocks while the stream is going, and that is the trick to get fantastic combos with glorious light effects all over the gaming board.

There are also special blocks, such as magnets that attract or repulse the streams, tinder blocks that burn and disappear when red blocks aorund it are destroyed, and so on.

Besides offering a fresh idea (and if it sounded difficult, rest assured after playing for a few minutes it'll become more clear), Tidalis has about twenty different modes that you can even combine with each other. These modes (think of this a bit like "filters" or rule sets that you can add in) can totally alter the gameplay, offering you a very different and individual gaming experience.

There is also a very long story mode that not only features a fun and nicely written story, but also teaches you how to play. Not just the basics, but also the more advanced tricks. You can learn the game in just a few minutes (it will just "click"), but getting good at it takes practice and skill.

Besides the customizable endless type of modes that you know from most games of this genre and the above mentioned story mode, there is also a network mode where you can play against other players worldwide, though I have yet to try this. The single player mode features achievements, which adds a sense of purpose to playing for countless hours. ;) In addition, the game comes with a large number of hand-created puzzles that will undoubtedly bend your mind.

The developers release regular updates with free DLC, such as more puzzles, modes and custom art for the blocks. The game comes with three editors, one each for making campaigns, puzzle levels and themes.

There are also well-done sound tracks and beautiful, animated backgrounds that create a fitting atmosphere. The game feels friendly and is accessible for both casual and core gamers. Tidalis is definitely a gem that isn't receiving much attention, but it is nonetheless one of those rare puzzle games that pop up out of nowhere and offer a fresh experience and feature an original concept.

If you like puzzle games, you'll almost certainly enjoy Tidalis. For a low price you receive an original game loaded with really diverse modes, tons of options and quite possibly dozens or hundreds of hours of addictive puzzle fun. This was an excellent purchase. :)