Developed by Caio Flavio and Remix Games and published for Nintendo Switch by Afil Games, HoneyLand is a simple puzzle game where you must guide a bear to its honey using cards for movements. Simple and wholesome puzzle games go very well on Nintendo Switch, and I am always up for trying them out. HoneyLand fits great into this category because you do not have to explore large environments here or look for difficult solutions. This is our review of HoneyLand for the Nintendo Switch in which we try to eat every bit of honey that comes our way no matter the move cost.
Booting up HoneyLand takes you straight to the main menu where you can jump straight into the game. There are no fancy comic-style cutscenes and menu screens here. After watching the company logos, the main menu is just there for you to begin your honey-hunting journey. Its simple UI and levels on the main menu tell you of its mobile origin however the game feels just fine on the Nintendo Switch. There are 30 different levels in the game and they get progressively harder as you progress in the story. As you complete a previous level, you unlock the next level. They are not unlocked right from the start, so you have to progress gradually.
The gameplay and UI are pretty simple. There is no touchscreen gameplay here and you have to use buttons to select a move card and play it. Each level has one single solution that you have to use to clear it. The puzzles do not offer multiple solutions so you must find the only solution in every level to solve it. As I previously mentioned, your goal is to reach the honey in each level to clear it and for reaching it, you are given movement cards. Each card has a direction and a specific number of moves in which the bear will move if you use that card. Using all of the available cards, you have to complete that particular level.
To confuse players, some levels have extra cards as well however none of the puzzles are that hard. I did get stuck on a few levels, but they were not very complex to solve ultimately, and I managed to clear the entire game in around 1.5 hours during my first playthrough. Once you know the solutions, you can play the game forever, but it will become really easy because you will already know the solutions to every puzzle, so the first time is perhaps the most satisfying run for HoneyLand. As you progress in the puzzles, a few additional mechanics are added to the puzzles like another card type which allows for staggered movements and pickups on the maps as well that you can use for solving the puzzles but other than these, the gameplay is fairly simple.
The levels are designed as blocks and since the movements are designed according to moving blocks, it makes it easier for you to figure out where you will end up once you play a certain move. You cannot move around the camera, but a card selection shows you a movement path along with a silhouette of the bear at the final destination. This is your only guide for each movement. The addition of a rotatable camera would have been a great addition to the game, but it works fine even without it. The game offers you 30 unique levels and there are some environmental changes as well as you progress because your final destination is a volcano.
HoneyLand is a simple yet good puzzle game. It offers a simple UI and gameplay mechanics that are easy to get into and make the game perfect for pick-and-play. The puzzles themselves are not very hard so do not expect to spend a lot of time with the game and once you have completed all of the puzzles, there is not much else to do but to replay the same levels over and over again with no new mechanics. I did enjoy my time with the game but it is a single playthrough title for me.
Final Verdict:
HoneyLand sits perfectly on the Nintendo Switch because its short and simple puzzles ensure that you can play them on the go. The puzzles offer a decent balance between challenge and simplicity to keep you entertained for a decent time. However, with simple solutions, there is not much replayability for longer playtimes so once you have played it twice or thrice, there is not much to do. However, considering its price of just $3.99, it is fair to say that it is still a pretty decent puzzle game that will keep you busy for some time. If you love puzzle games and are looking to add something simple yet challenging to your collection, you can definitely consider HoneyLand.
Final Verdict: 8.0/10
