ELOH
A music game that’s just a little off beat
$2.99 From Broken Rules Interactive Media GmbH, eloh-game.com Made for iPhone, iPad Needs iOS 8.0 or later
ELOH is a neat little rhythm–ish game with snappy audio design. Each level is a puzzle involving a ball and a goal into which the ball must go, and several blocks that the player can move around to get the ball into the goal by bouncing it around the screen.
Like most puzzles, it starts off simple and gradually increases the difficulty by adding new types of block and obstacle: blocks that change the color of the ball, letting it go into colored areas or through colored walls; obstacles that can repel the wrong–colored ball and let the right one through. There are 85 levels in total, which may not take long for experienced puzzle game–lovers, but for the relatively modest outlay it feels like good value.
ELOH is pretty, with watercolor washes and gradients, and strange little cutscenes before new characters are introduced. There’s a coastal theme to the whole game, with blocks carved out of wood and sun-bleached stone, and patterned borders of white and blue. The watercolor look is reminiscent of developer Broken Rules’ last game, Old Man’s Journey. This signature art style gives ELOH a soothing, tranquil feeling, and the lack of timers and paywalls adds to that. This isn’t a game to rush.
The sound, however, is an issue, which is a shame as it’s the main feature of the game. Each block makes satisfying wooden marimba noises that come together to create lovely harmonies, but some cancel each other out.
the bottom line. A music game that fails to fully harmonize.