Puppy Link - Tile Connect

A cozy matching tile game that has cute puppies. ^^

Introduction

Puppy Link - Tile Connect is a mahjong solitaire, cozy puzzle game developed and published by ZT-Studio. You're given a total of 300 levels, with 100 levels for small-sized boards, 100 levels for medium-sized boards, and 100 levels for large-sized boards. In each level, you have to match two of the same picture tiles, but there are specific ways of doing so. Basically, you have to be able to connect the tiles in a logical manner. You can choose from either normal mode in which you have a limited number of hints and have to complete a level within a certain specified time in order to get a star or easy mode, which gives you unlimited hints and you can take as much time as you want. Also, there's a relaxing, lo-fi soundtrack, and you can customize you game wallpaper from among several options. Of course, plenty of Steam achievements are available, but they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "profile features limited".

Review

When I first saw the store page for this game on Steam, cuteness overload happened because yup, I just can't resist looking at cute puppies. Thanks to the wonderful developer, ZT-Studio, I received a review key to check out this game. ^^

No story is present here, but it's really more about the gameplay. There isn't a mandatory tutorial that pops up when you start a level, so if you want instructions on how to match tiles and whatnot, you'll have to click on the question mark icon in the upper right of the screen. It explains with pictures and a couple of words about how to match tiles, and I feel like the explanation is sufficient and fairly easy to understand. I like that there's a hint feature, so if you get stuck on how to connect a couple of tiles, you can get a bit of assistance. Also, I like that easy mode is an option, especially if you want a more relaxing experience. I played on normal mode, though, since I tend to like my gameplay to be challenging, and being under the pressure of a timer will do that. It's doable to get all stars on all the levels although it can definitely take some time. All the achievements are obtainable, but I will point out that I found one to be a bit annoying. It's the one for having 50 or more gameplay hours. After having completed all of the levels (with replaying a few of them), it took me closer to 30 hours, so I had to idle the rest of the time and then complete a level in order to get that final achievement. To be fair, though, I'm pretty competent at completing these kinds of games, so if you're more of a novice, 50 hours could be more realistic.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3665872673

As for the art, it has a very cutesy style. Granted, it is stated on the store page that AI was used in regards to the art, but I don't know how much it was. Still, I like the look of the puppies and the backgrounds are colorful and cute to look at. Also, I like how you can choose from among several backgrounds for your wallpaper as you're playing the game. Personally, this one is my favorite:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3665872853

With the music, there's a great variety of relaxing tracks to listen to. They're a good accompaniment as you're playing the levels and such. Like the art, AI was used for the music as well although I don't know to what extent. Regardless, the tracks are nice to listen to, especially since they're all instrumental and relaxing in nature.

Conclusion

Would I recommend Puppy Link - Tile Connect? If you're looking for a fun, relaxing mahjong solitaire type of game to play that's themed around cute puppies and/or you like looking for all those Steam achievements, then I think it's worth a try. Granted, I'm not a fan of idling to get that final achievement, but that's a very minor issue. At the asking price, it's a bargain, especially with the amount of gameplay time that you'll get out of it.

Finally, I'd like to thank ZT-Studio for such a cute, fun game. I'm going to miss looking at these sweet puppies, but I hope that there will be more future games centered around these canines. ^^

For more detailed, fully complete, high quality reviews like this, please follow The Introverted Gamer, prioritizing heart and soul always. ^^

EDITED:

The dev responded & put out an update to fix the accessibility issues by adding a low stress "Cozy Mode", which I feel is very appropriate for the type of game this is and do appreciate. I think different difficulty levels in the future may be a good idea, since it seems like there's a big jump between having to complete a level in under 90 seconds and not having any timers at all, but am happy with the quick response and that, despite the heavy reliance on AI (which I'm ethically grossed out by and, again, wouldn't have bought this if I had noticed the note that was definitely there but I just missed), there is an actual person working on the development that cares about the player experience, so I am updating the review.

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Got this not knowing how involved AI was in the making of it so that's definitely on me & I'll check better for that in the future, but also the game is completely unbalanced (as are the achievements) and I believe that's heavily caused by the involvement of AI in the development of it.

The time limit goals for each level are ridiculous with how the tiles & game work, even on the smallest levels/maps - it took this from a cozy, fun experience to a stressful, annoying, unrealistic one. There is no way an actual person is playing this and feeling chill and relaxed while staying within the very limited time constraints. Why are there time limits at all for something that mentions "cozy", "soothing", and "relax" all in the game description??

It also needs written instructions, because the way the game is explained is not user friendly at all.

It's cute, and I love supporting indie devs and small games, but this was super disappointing and absolutely needs reworking. Hoping there's an actual human behind the game that's able to make adjustments because as is, I can't recommend this at all.

At this point, no. But I believe it can be better. This is a cozy designed game with cute puppies and background.

Main problem: Based on the playing, you will get board in 1 hour and feel to tired to reopen it. It's just 300 levels with three sizes of the board. No special design for levels changes, such as drop or move, color change, link to 3 or 4, it's easy to get bored.

Other small things can be improved:
- You can stop the music by clicking the ||, however, it will replay automatically when you enter the next level. There is a requirement of getting a crown for each level which related to the time spent, meaning you can use fewer than 60 seconds to pass an easy level. Replaying music automatically is not necessary
- The changes of the background can also related to the background when playing/ The change of color can reduce the use of eyes.