Access Denied – Review

Sit down and solve 36 pressing puzzles, that’s what Access Denied contains. This small little game ported by Ratalaika Games comes out to please the puzzle genre fans, while I was never overwhelmed it definitely wasn’t an easy job to finish all the puzzles! Be sure to check out this review if you want a short but strong puzzle experience!

The good

• Puzzle selection: The most important thing about Access Denied is puzzles and the selection is a good mix between logic and clues in plain sight. Having some intelligence is required to finish most puzzles so this isn’t the type of game that you can let your kid play on a Wednesday afternoon. While nothing requires the brains of Albert Einstein don’t expect an easy little game either. I had a fun two hours with Access Denied and definitely saw potential in the puzzle design, so by keeping the price in mind I can positively say that I had a lot of fun solving the 30+ challenges.

Mixed Feelings

• Decent but dull visuals: You play the game in first person view and the first thing that came to mind was that I was some kind of bomb defusion specialist. The “puzzle” appears and when you complete it will slide down, don’t expect fireworks or CONGRATULATIONS messages. Your one and the only reward is finding the solution, most of the times that feeling is enough. Visually the game isn’t really impressive or striking but it is fairly decent enough for today’s standard.
• Weird controls: Luckily we aren’t defusing bombs because the controls get the job done but can be very frustrating too. Unclear whenever something moves by clicking on it or when something is moving right or left more than you originally wanted. I’m not entirely sure who’s to blame for this Stately Snail (the original developer) or the one who ported the game Ratalaika Games. The first example for this is when you have to turn two different buttons to the right color dot, I literally spend over a minute trying to figure out how to freaking turn the damn things. That said, this doesn’t happen with all puzzles and most of the times the controls work, turning an object is fast, zooming in too.

The bad

• Short: 36 different challenges with quite a few that only take a few seconds. This game stands or falls on puzzles and the present brain-breakers are good but not nearly enough to give enough content, even for the low (on launch) €5 price.
• Mundane sound: When the game page describes realistic rain and thunder sound as a reason to buy the game then I’m really a little speechless. The repetitive sound is, without question not a good reason to buy this game. Don’t get me wrong, having some kind of ambient sound while solving the puzzles is a good thing but I wish there was a lot more variation, now you are constantly running towards the toilet because of hearing water 24/7.

Access Denied | Score: 65%

I always enjoy a well made puzzle game and Access Denied isn’t any different, the available puzzles are fun and give you a satisfactional feeling when you complete them. If you don’t expect anything special you’ll have a good time, albeit that time will be rather short.