Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Jul 15, 2016

  So far, so good. Just like the other Quell games but with a Japanese theme. Even the titles of the levels have a Japanese translation beneath the English. There are nice visual touches: cherry blossoms on some of the stone blocks, Japanese styled window panes, samurai swords on a wall rack, a huge ornate cabinet with many little drawers. Unfortunately the music doesn't seem at all Japanese to me. It's still soft, soothing, background music for solving puzzles, but I'd think they would choose something more to fit the theme better. This game combines many features of the previous Quell games. The beginning few levels are mini tutorials to get you up to speed. I played the first game but never got around to the others (because I'm a completionist and hadn't gotten the first game 100% yet!) so some of the puzzle aspects are new to me. I assume they are in the other Quell games, or maybe they are new here? For those new to the Quell games, the object is to guide a bubble through a maze of obstacles until it hits all the pearls. You can only move in four directions: up, down, left, right. Once the bubble starts moving it will continue until it runs into a wall or another obstacle. Avoid spikes! There is also optional stuff for achievement hunters: do the level in a certain number of moves; find the hidden gem; find the warp ring to a special puzzle. You can retry a puzzle as many times as you like. And there is no time limit, so take all the time you want planning your moves. Difficulty goes from easy to brain numbing, especially if you want to get 100%. I used keyboard and mouse. Not sure if gamepad works. Will update more as I play more of the game. Just wanted to give a quick review for those wondering how it compares to previous ones.
• gamedeal user

  Jul 16, 2016

  Quell Zen is a very relaxing and calm puzzle game that starts out easy and gets harder and harder with every level. There are 192 levels in total which means you will be busy for quite a while. The general mechanic of this game is that you control a raindrop that, when you press a direction, constantly travels until it hits a wall or obstacle - similar to ice puzzles in many other games. The puzzles themselves are fun and constantly introduce new elements like teleporters, spikes, crystals and more - variety is certainly a strong point of Quell Zen while still never straying too far from its roots. Something to note about this game is the extremely amazing music. If the backgrounds and the general feel of the game (that are very japanese in design) aren't yet "zen" enough for you, the music will do the rest. I grew up with the classics and heard plenty of amazing video game music in my life - but whoever composed the music for this game needs to be paid much more than they currently get. It sounds amazing, is relaxing, peaceful and fits the mood of the game incredibly well. It draws you in and relaxes you - "Zen" indeed. If you are looking for a relaxing experience that still teases your brain a lot, look no further. Quell Zen is a great puzzle game with plenty to do. It is visually pleasing, contains many puzzling elements and includes absolutely amazing music. Highly recommended!
• gamedeal user

  Jan 24, 2017

  This is one of those two-dimensional puzzle games you can find by the dozens here, a brain-teaser with neat abstract objects and increasing difficulty that keeps you busy for a few hours. It has more features on the board than some of its competitors. Also, the whole presentation is aesthetically pleasing, and so I can give the game a thumbs-up. I do have a small problem with the advertisement though: This is not "the embodiment of relaxation" or "an unforgettable journey", in fact it is not special at all. There are just some meditation-related buzzwords like "tranquility" and "zen" as well as pseudo-literary texts (that are completely unrelated to the actual game) thrown in, and the very good sound design includes soothing background music. You can achieve the exact same effect by playing one of the many other similar logic games and run your favourite relaxation playlist in a separate app. Still, the ad tries to suggest to you that this game would be something unique, selling you a feeling instead of a product in a quite transparent and pretentious manner. This does not mean that Quell Zen was somehow worse - but it surely is not better than the others the way it claims to be. I felt that this needed to be said.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 10, 2017

  Quell Zen is the fourth and latest part of the Quell Puzzle Games. While the other 3 Quell games (Quell, Quell Reflect and Quell Memento) have nearly the same puzzle mechanic in the whole game, with improving difficulty the more you progress, Quell Zen is bit different. This game has 4 Stages with 4 unique levels and sometimes a secret hidden level. Every of those stage has a unique puzzle mechanic and in total 13 different chapters. Your goal is to collect with your blue water bubble all the pearls in the level. You earn for every perfect level and for the hidden gems coins. With these coins you can buy solutions for the perfect set of moves for the level or the location of the secret level entrys or hidden gems. (this has nothing to do with microtransctions!) After finishing first the other 3 games and while playing the fourth, I am writing this review to absolutely recommend this series of puzzle games to you.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 30, 2018

  There are precious few game series that live to see a 4th installment - especially if the genre is "puzzle". It's also difficult to steadily improve quality as the series goes forward. To have a 4th installment that is massively superior to the (already good) predecessors is really exceptional - and this is what Quell Zen managed to achieve. The basic Quell formula is simple. You're guiding a raindrop with momentum - if you push it right, it will travel right until it hits something (or travel forever if it doesn't hit anything :) Initially, you need to collect pearls to complete levels, but as the game goes on, there are more types of objectives. Some of the levels are challenging to figure out, but the real challenge is getting the perfect score (ie. lowest number of moves). If more challenge is wanted, you can look for the hidden jewel on the level. Some levels also have sublevels, also for additional challenge. And finally, you can try to beat the perfect score - there are a handful in every quell game where this is possible. As you see, Quell goes from the relaxing casual to the mid-heavy challenging, depending on how you approach. The simple but pleasing visual style is unobtrusive, while the gorgeous soundtrack infuses the game with a degree of melancholy. This is where Quell Zen scores big - combining the ever more refined atmosphere of the first three games with a Japanese theme is a total hit, when I saw the game, I just wondered how the creators didn't think of this earlier. Ah yeah, and doubling the number of levels also did the game some good :) Complete with a simple but heartfully told little story, Quell Zen is one of the most atmospheric puzzle games I've ever played, with a difficulty level matching my capabilities and attention span well. As the crowning glory of an already excellent series, this game is certainly recommended.
• gamedeal user

  Nov 13, 2019

  Quell Zen is a good sequel to a good puzzle series. The story is pretty good as per usual of the series. Definitely a must play if you love puzzles or are a Quell fan.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 27, 2020

  Final game in the series. Somewhat different with good level of challenge. If you have played the others then you will want to add this one.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 24, 2020

  Quell Zen is the fourth, and the last game in the Quell series, released separately from the main [url=https://store.steampowered.com/sub/66682/]Quell bundle[/url] a year after the first three games. And as always, I found this part of the series purely by chance while browsing the search for similar games. And... it is brilliant. Quell Zen have everything from the previous Quell games, and the game itself is the most extensive one, with really more than 200 levels introduced here, including the hidden ones. As always, there are some new mechanics being offered to the player (including the really tricky [spoiler]black hole and "reverse direction"[/spoiler]). Also, I can tell that this game is the most balanced and polished one out of all games in this series. But what makes this game so outstanding that I had to write a separate review for it? Aside from the very charming Japanese theme in this game there is the story. And the story makes it all. This the only Quell game with a story, which is conveyed not through the backgrounds or voiceless puctures, but through the written letters. And it was a very intimate and personal story for me, which actually brought tears to my eyes, since I can relate to it in a way. Well, it's true for anyone who knows how painful it could be [spoiler]to suddenly lose someone dear and then have regrets over your own words from the past[/spoiler]. It's an absolutely beautiful story of love. The title of Quell Zen suits this game perfectly. This game is very "zen" both in story and in gameplay, and it's totally a "must have" for every fan of challenging, but at the same time relaxing puzzle games. ----- If you are interested in other games I'm playing, check my [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/36682541-Lonely-Dev-Reviews/]Curator page[/url]. Maybe there will be something good for you.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 22, 2020

  A very solid puzzle game. The story, such as it was, didn't do much for me, but fortunately this isn't about the story; it's about finding your way through a variety of labyrinths, from easy to fiendish, following a simple set of clearly-explained rules applied in interesting ways.