14 DAY TRIAL // We were talking a while ago about a project from a company that's called Codeminion - and that project was named Saqqarah. Back then, we had no idea what the game was going to be about, but we knew that the developers promised to bring a whole new meaning to the concept of casual gaming. Although I personally had quite some hopes invested in this title, it seems that I was a bit way off topic: Saqqarah is, after all, a match three puzzle game. Indeed, it looks better and it has a few extra features, but it is still a match three puzzle. And no, that's not a bad thing (generally speaking), but I was really hoping for much more.
"When it comes to game mechanics, Saqqarah's biggest innovation lies in the introduction of the 'distorted grid' board topology. Each level is a unique set of nodes connected with smooth curves. It allowed us to create seven different types of puzzles with common goals and features but different mechanics. This includes a classical match-3, which really works great with this setup, and a set of completely original gameplays. Usage of distorted grids enabled us to create lots of distinctive and visually appealing levels, adding twists even to the more commonly known mechanics. Players will get to unlock and explore seven different temples, each consisting of 72 levels. This gives us a whooping 512 of puzzles to complete. We also plan to provide our gamers with new content after the game's release," explains Maciej Biedrzycki, game's programmer and Codeminion co-owner.
So, apart from the classic match-three gameplay mode (called Isis Swap in here), we have the Sobek's Rotate where we'll have to rotate clusters of tokens to create closed groups of one type, Puzzles of Thot for the logic puzzle fans, where we'll have to freely re-arrange tokens to find a winning solution that matches the grid. Five other gameplay modes include the Chains of Anubis, Horus Token Pop, Hand of Osiris, Paths of Bast and Glyph Search (this one is more of a bonus-round stage, where we will have to find all sorts of hidden objects).
Even though the exact release date is still unannounced, the game will probably be out sooner rather than later, since the first screenshots have been published. And, yes, Saqqarah indeed looks great!