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Quite often puzzle games can become frustrating, asking you to learn a certain skill or technique before cranking up the difficulty levels to test your mental prowess. Glyder is a puzzle game with a twist in that it almost asks nothing of you: no heart rate increasing time limits, no cramp inducing tests of hand dexterity and no forced frustration. Glyder just lets you be and what’s more it offers you some lovely music along the way.
Of course there are some objectives to complete whilst playing Glyder, but they are so nonchalantly tossed at you that it’s quite easy to ignore them and just forget yourself in gaming relaxation. The game starts you off with a couple of sentences explaining that your character (Eryn) has been transported to a mythical archipelago and must collect a certain number of gems to return home. Eryn has at her disposal a pair of Da Vinci-esque wings that allow her to glide from island to island using thermals (upward wind currents) to gain altitude along the way. All of the controls are mapped out to the accelerometer and there’s really not much else that needs explaining. There are platforms that Eryn can land on and a smattering of achievements, but other than that it’s a simple case of gliding around collecting gems at your leisure.
If it was executed badly Glyder would be a monotonous affair, but thankfully the calming music and intuitive controls give off enough of a laissez-faire attitude to make just cruising around a real fun experience. Visually the game has some nice touches (like the detail on Eryn and the smooth animation of the wings unfurling), but is kept off the upper echelons of graphical brilliance by some low quality background textures and the odd frame rate hiccup. We touched on the importance of the music in Glyder and special mention must be given to the game’s composers. The music ties in so perfectly with the style of game that it’s often a delight to simply glide around, climbing and diving with the songs’ crescendos and diminuendos.
Glyder’s lonesome world provides the perfect background for sailing the skies and we implore anyone who’s a fan of casual puzzle games to check this one out. Worth the asking price for the music alone, Glyder is a real treat for the senses.
