'Tengami' - Review:

Tengami is a very uniquely designed puzzle game. It takes the appearance of a Japanese pop-up book and you move between worlds by sliding over the pages.

The game has already received accolades for its design and was also chosen the Editor’s Choice on the App Store.

Tengami is a 3D side-scrolling puzzle game. The game makes clever use of the pop-up book design to separate levels and game worlds. Instead of simply going from one area to another, you get an option on the side of the screen to swipe and then the level in front of you folds and a new one appears, just the way a pop-up book works.

The entire game takes place inside a book, so everything from the character to the environment are made out of paper. You control the character by tapping on the ground and he will walk there. 

As you move forward, you will come across several puzzles along the way. Most of them involve altering the terrain ahead of you to make a path to move forward. Since it is a pop-up book, parts of the pages move and you have to move them in the correct order to make a path for your character.

Sometimes you will find that you are stuck and can’t seem to find a way forward. In that case it is recommended that you explore around a bit. 

As mentioned before, the game has a deliberate slow pacing. It is not meant to be played in a hurry and if you go in with that mentality you are bound to be frustrated with it.

Unfortunately, despite the slow pacing of the game, it still ends up being far too short.

Tengami has auto-sync on iOS that backs up and synchronizes your progress across your iOS devices using iCloud, although you are likely to play and finish the game in one sitting.

Visually, Tengami is very impressive. First of all, the concept of a pop-book is very novel and is implemented very well into the game. The matte appearance for all the 3D objects in the game to resemble paper also looks good and the visuals in general are very aesthetically pleasing and demonstrate a high level of polish and attention to detail.

The sound in the game is equally impressive. From the soothing ambient sounds to the lovely oriental tracks that play in the background, it’s all very good and complements the visuals and gameplay style well.

Rating: 7.5/10
Pros: Beautifully designed with lovely soundtrack
Cons: Too short with not much replay value

Price: $4.99
Download: App Store