Kickstarter Check-In: Puzzle Explorers: A Tangledeep Story

Impact Gameworks has begun a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Puzzle Explorers: A Tangledeep Story. The game, from the creators of 16-bit-inspired roguelike dungeon-crawler Tangledeep, will feature a mixture of falling block puzzle mechanics and active time combat with multiple difficulty settings.

Combat will have players fighting up to three enemy monsters. The player’s allies and the monsters will take it in turns to attack, while main character Mirai controls the puzzle board. The puzzle board sees players clearing lines to deal damage to enemies. Some monsters will use charged attacks, which can be interrupted, and monster attacks can impact the puzzle board, potentially swapping pieces, speeding it up, and more. Players will also find puzzles in ruins, which can be rebuilt by dropping blocks into the correct places.

It is not clear how Puzzle Explorers’ story is connected to Tangledeep, but it takes place in a lush world recently re-discovered by those who lived beneath its surface. The game is based around the town of New Riverstone where Mirai helps to upgrade the town. Mirai can collect resources through another falling block mini-game. Players can move through the town in a 2D side-scrolling view, able to talk with the townfolk and learn more about them.

Puzzle Explorers lets players select with blocks will appear in the puzzles. Eight types of blocks can be selected, ranging from three to six pieces. Players will start out with physical ‘Flow’ blocks, but will later gain access to other elements: Fire blocks cause damage over time, Ice blocks can prevent enemies from acting, and Lightning blocks hit multiple enemies and scale depending on how many rows are cleared.

Impact Gameworks is looking for $20,000 in funding by August 21, 2020. The game is being developed for PC and Nintendo Switch, with an initial planned release window of Q2 2021. Though who pledge at least $20 will receive a digital copy of the game as part of their backer rewards. A limited number equivalent $15 tier is also available. A pre-alpha build is available to download from the Kickstarter campaign page.

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